


Revert

by dreamingwitheyesclosed



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Friendship, General, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-09
Updated: 2013-12-20
Packaged: 2017-12-10 20:40:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 48
Words: 158,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/789936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamingwitheyesclosed/pseuds/dreamingwitheyesclosed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack Frost has given up his Guardianship. Why? Well, part of the reason is his first believers. But there's so much more then that. Follow Jack through his life and struggles of adjusting to humanity. Make new friends and discover how awkward life actually is. And... there are some things just can't stay in the past. [Big Four AU] [Return of Pitch] [Human!Jack x Older!Sophie]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is an expansion of a oneshot I wrote a while ago. There's going to be several chapters, going through Jack's life as a human. You'll get to know his children and the friends he makes along the way. A more in-depth look in his struggle to adapt to this century's way of life. Humanity is not as easy as it looks.

Jack Frost has spent years visiting these siblings. Jamie and Sophie Bennett were his first and oldest believers. Since Jamie was eight, Jack had not been able to stay away. He was actually making his first friend. A mortal one, one he could come to that he was sure would listen when the Guardians were busy. Which was actually all the time, believe it or not. It felt strange to be the only Guardian with his own schedule and as much free time as he desired.

He had been with them for about seventeen years now. They were his closest friends. He would visit them at least once a week, though he tried to see them once a day. It was horrible, probably incredibly irresponsible, but he could not stay away. The three of them got along way too well for him to just up and leave them. He did try and stay away for longer then two weeks once, but there was this strange aching in his chest. He couldn't explain it, but once he was back with Jamie and Sophie, it eased and felt… home.

Home. Jack Frost never had a home. He never felt someplace he belonged. His pond was the closest thing because forgotten memories were tied to it. That was his favorite place for three-hundred years because that was where he was born. That was where he died. And this house was so very close to that pond, he could look out of Jamie's bedroom window and see it.

And, while he didn't prefer to stay in one place (the world was so big and even after three-hundred years he felt as if he hadn't been everywhere), he could easily imagine being with Jamie and Sophie forever. Being with them eased his fears, worries, and anxiety. He was calm with them.

And now, this was exactly where he needed to be.

Jack Frost was worried. Very worried. But he refused to let on that he was or why he was. Especially to these two.

"Jamie, I let's put on Rave Captor." Sophie insisted as she sat on the living room floor, a sketchbook open in front of her.

"I don't want to watch anime, Sophie." Jamie said as he flipped through the television channels, Jack sitting next to him. "What do you want to watch, Jack?"

Jack shrugged. He didn't watch television often. It was actually quite rare to sit with the two of them and watch it. Jamie was home from college. It was summer break. Sophie never left home, but was attending her first semester of college in the fall. He would dart between the two of them and they woud find games to play and would easily find something to keep them busy. But, it was a lazy summer's eve.

Jack was tired, although he wouldn't let it on. Jamie was recovering from exams, saying his brain was mushed and needed some rotting. Sophie was always just sort of in her own world. She went along with what was going on around her.

"I don't care," Jack replied. "I don't really pay attention to the shows playing anyway." He tried a few times. But it was hard to keep up with plots and characters. Movies were much easier. One go and you knew everything and everyone. Sometimes, it took two or three or thirteen. There was a children's movie with thirteen sequels, he remembered. Way back in the 1990s. Needless to say, he had only seen the first one.

"Rave Captor."

"No, Sophie."

"Let's just put in a movie." Jack suggested.

The two of them agreed. Then the argument about about which movie to watch had Jack chuckling from his seat. He was exhausted. Jack could not ever remember feeling like this. Not once in his three-hundred years of life had he been weary. He closed his eyes and leaned back on the couch.

"Jack!"

He opened his eyes and Jamie and Sophie leaned over him, worried. He raised an eyebrow. Why were they looking at him like that.

"Were you… were you just sleeping?" the blonde girl asked.

"No." Jack answered quickly, stretching his arms. "I was resting my eyes." He thought he was anyway.

"No… Jack Frost doesn't just 'rest his eyes.'" Jamie frowned. "Jack Frost doesn't get tired or sleep."

Jack laughed and pushed them back. "Guys, I'm fine."

They weren't buying it. Suddenly, this was leading down a road Jack did not want to go down. He wasn't ready to talk with them about what was happening to him. He didn't even know what to make of it himself. Jack reached down and grabbed his staff.

"I'm going to g—whoah!" Jack stumbled as he stood up. No. No, no, no. Jamie quickly grabbed him as he lurched forward. Sophie gasped and helped him stand upright.

Jack met her gaze and stopped. Her bright, big green eyes were furrowed with worry and she bit her chapped lip. Something about her eyes always just seemed to capture him. No, it wasn't always. It… it started about three years ago. She was growing up and they were growing closer and she was just  _beautiful_. He didn't know what this feeling was.

He was dizzy. Why was he dizzy? He gripped his staff and took a breath, pulling his gaze away from her. Was it because he needed to breathe? But… he never NEEDED to do that. No, it had to be something else. Though, he did note that he had momentarily forgot to breathe. He should figure out how to stop that.

"Sorry, just, you know, time to get going." Jack nodded, looking from Sophie to Jamie with a grin.

"Jack, what's going on?" Jamie asked, tightening his grip on Jack's bicep. Jamie was not going to let him go without answers.

"What are you talking about?" Jack laughed. "You act like something's wrong."

"Because something clearly is." Sophie said in a quiet voice.

Jack didn't like worrying them. He didn't like the looks they pierced him with that begged for answers. They sincerely were concerned for him. They didn't want him to suffer. They didn't want him to be alone. The Bennetts gently held on to Jack, Sophie's hands covering his free hand and Jamie moving his hand to his back. He looked between them and sighed, pulling away from them.

"See you later." he said with finality.

They understood he could be stubborn sometimes. The siblings looked between each other and stepped towards him as he leapt onto the window seat and pushed the window open. Jack held out a fist to Jamie that the man met with his own.

"See ya." Jamie said with a frown.

Jack looked to Sophie. He hesitated for a moment before leaning forward and touching his lips to hers. The kiss was swift, chaste, but so sweet. It also illicit a gasp from the girl's brother. But this wasn't something new. He found himself often with the urge to kiss her when they were together. It was just the first time he had done so in front of Jamie.

Sophie was… special. She made him feel things no one else did. He cared about her differently, not more and not less. What he felt with her was just as strong as what he felt with Jamie or Toothiana or Bunnymund. He did not understand the feeling but really did want to know more about it.

Sophie smiled and touched his face, fear for him etched in her eyes. "See you tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow." he promised.

He glanced to Jamie with his usual side-smirk and threw snow in his face before the winds grabbed Jack and pulled him through the window and into the air.

— — —

His heart felt heavy and broken.

Standing in the middle of his pond, a warm summer breeze ghosted over him. The full moon hung high above him. He felt ashamed to stand in it's presence. Jack toed the ice beneath his feet that held him on the water. He took a deep breath and looked up.

"You chose me." he started, his voice thick with emotion. "You chose me for this role. And… I'm honored. It's the best thing that has ever happened to me." He was being honest. "They didn't look down on my anymore. They took me in. We're family." He nodded, clutching his staff tightly. "We're family…

"But, I… I guess I screwed up somewhere, huh?"

He was a disappointment. They might not have seen him like that. No, the Guardians did not. But he was a hinderance. Seventeen years ago, he was powerful. Not quite the strength of the Guardians when they were at their full power, but he had enough to really make a difference. It had drained, though. With his acceptance of Guardianship.

It was a slow transition. One he did not notice at first. Jamie had all of the neighborhood children believing in him. Burgess had become full of believers. Belief slowly spread about Jack Frost's existence in towns nearby. It took about a decade to get a good amount of believers. And Jack felt  _stronger_  then he had before. He felt power through the children that believed in him. He did not need to rely on that power before. And it felt  _good_  because he was  _so sure_ that there would only be more believers to come.

But, just as quickly as belief escalated, it descended. Turns out, belief in Jack Frost was just a passing phase. He didn't have a holiday to keep up his tradition. He didn't come and collect anything from them or leave gifts. He did not leave residual dream sand trapped in the corners of the eyes of sleepy children when they awoke.

There was no lasting proof Jack Frost existed. Snow days and fun times were brief and were gone as quickly as they came. Nothing memorable was left besides memories that faded the next event of their life occurred.

"I'm grateful. I really am. Even if for three-hundred years I couldn't see it. But, truly, I'm thankful. You have me a second chance at life. You saw something in me that I never could. You knew I had a greater purpose and I could live up to it. And I tried. I did my best. Right?" Jack adjusted the hood that framed his face. "These seventeen years, I lived up to the expectations. I protected children from danger and nightmares. I've been doing everything I could.

"But… I don't think I can anymore." Jack looked at the moon's reflection in the water. "I physically  _can't_. I want to. I really do. I just… I don't have enough believers."

When he realized he was growing weaker, he did everything he could to keep his believers. He would visit them regularly during the winter. But the children outgrew him.

He could count on one hand how many believers he had left.

"But… it's okay. I have those two." Jack smiled fondly. "Jamie and Sophie. They're the best. I hope you see that. I really do. Because they're both so amazing, so full of faith and hope and they're already all grown up but  _still believe in us_. I've  _never_  heard of that before. Have you?" He looked up to the moon.

And his smile fell. "I want to keep going. I do. But… look. I've failed you. I've failed the Guardians. They offered to help. And they  _tried_. They all tried so hard. It didn't work. Nothing  _worked_.

"And… now I'm scared. I'm terrified. Jamie and Sophie… what if they stop believing in me, too? Or… what if they never stop? I'm going to be around much longer then they are. Maybe… if everyone stops believing in me, will I disappear?

"The thing is… I know I've asked you this a million times and a million different ways. I've begged you, I've pleaded, I've groveled. I've been pretty pathetic, haven't I?" Jack laughed. "But… this time, I'm going to ask you, as a friend, please take this from me."

Jack had thought about this for a long, long time. He asked Jamie and Sophie what they thought of it last year. What if he could ask the Man in the Moon to take his power from him and leave him mortal?

Jamie was all for it. He sounded quite excited by the prospect, actually. But, at the same time, he admitted he would miss the magic that came with being Jack Frost's friend.

Sophie, though. Her first question was "Would you give it up just because of us?" He honestly didn't know how to answer her. They were part of the reason. But she did NOT want him to give up, just to be able to be with them. She didn't think they were worthy of him, she said. But it was the other way around. He wasn't worthy of them.

"It's… it's different this time." Jack nodded. "I was scared before. Of losing everything. But when the only thing I'm scared of losing is my friends, I've really got nothing to lose. Most of my power is already gone. Death… I'm not afraid of death." Being alive for three-hundred-plus years took the fear. He had lived long and he had lived well. "I don't want to lose them, MiM." Jack shook his head and pulled his hood back. "They're everything to me. Mortality… Mortality would grant me them for the rest of my life. I don't need magic, I don't need power, I don't need all this." He motioned to himself. "Just them.

"So, please… grant me mortality. You can do that, can't you? You gave me this gift. You can take it back. I've failed you. I'm failed the Guardians. Don't let me fail Jamie and Sophie, too."

Jack waited and waited. He anxiously shifted his weight on the ice, clutching his staff with both hands. Then, a moon shone bright. A single moonbeam reached him. He felt warmth spread from the top of his head to the tips of his toes. Breathe escaped him, his eyes transfixed on the glowing orb above him.

The light dimmed. The ice beneath his feet was suddenly way too cold. Jack looked down at just has he heard crackling. The ice was way to thin. It broke beneath him.

Jack yelped as he fell into the water. He surfaced and coughed out the water he inhaled in his drop. He gasped for air and laughed. The Man in the Moon certainly had a sense of humor. Jack swam to the shore with his staff and climbed out of the water, shaking himself off. He was  _soaking_  wet. Jack couldn't recall a time that water clung to him.

It was actually  _amazing_. The warm summer wind chilled him when it brushed against him. He was  _cold_. Jack have NEVER been cold. He shivered a bit and twisted to look back at the lake. The frost he walked across was melting already. It was already much harder to see in the dark, trying to make his eyes adjust with only the light of the full moon illuminating the pond area. It didn't matter, though.

Jack whooped and twirled on his toes, his fist and staff in the air. Thrill and joy bubbled inside him.  _MiM listened to him for the first time_! He didn't just force Jack to wait for answers. He didn't think he'd last three hundred years for a reply again.

Jack fell back into the grass. It was cool and soft, tickling the back of his neck. Panting, he looked into the face that glowed in the moon and grinned back. "Thank you." he breathed. "Thank you."

He couldn't be certain he was completely human. He couldn't see his reflection or run to the people to see if he passed through them. But the unfamiliar weight of his body and the need for air told him something changed. He put his hand on his forehead, matting down his wet hair. In what little light he had been provided, he could see his hair did not reflect any of it. It was dark, unlike the silvery-white spikes he was accustomed to.

Looking back to the orb, his cheeks ached with his wide smile.

_I'm glad to have the pleasure of working with you, Jack Frost. Take care. Be well. I will always be watching. Good luck._

Jack released a breath of relief. He spent a good portion of the night thanking the moon that did not respond. His eyes stung as he said his goodbyes. And, for the first time, he slept and  _dreamed_. 


	2. Chapter 2

Sophie Bennett was frustrated for two reasons.

The first was that she was woken up at noon to take the dog out. Sophie sat on the back porch, waiting for their lazy rescued Greyhound, Lady, to do her stuff. Her mother was a sucker for saving animals. Their previous dog, Abby, was a rescue as well. Though, Abby was much more lively than Lady. It wasn't just adopting rescues, though. Their mother often took home strays or run aways that she found and took them to the shelter if she couldn't find their owners.

You might also say that noon wasn't a terrible time to be awoken at. But it was for Sophie. She had been out of school for a year. She graduated when she was seventeen and instead of going right to college, she took a year off to figure out her passion. Yeah, she liked art. The girl was an artist. She was also a night owl. Last night, she did not go to sleep until five in the morning.

Yeah, she really needed to fix her sleep schedule before she started college in the fall.

The second reason she was frustrated was because of her brother. They didn't "fight" last night. But, he was being rather annoying and very off-putting. All because a boy kissed her in front of him.

Well, maybe he wouldn't have been so annoying if it hadn't been his best friend.

Or Jack Frost.

She actually should have been expecting the questions. She figured he brushed it off when they starting wondering aloud what was wrong with Jack. He was acting so strange. He was tired. Jack Frost was _never_  tired. He was despondent and clearly dodging their questions. They sat in the living room, ignoring the movie that played and questioned what could be wrong with their friend.

When the movie ended, the two of them were quiet for a while. Sophie assumed the worst. Jamie didn't assume anything. He never did. Especially when it came to the world they weren't as familiar with as they would like to be.

Then, the question. "So… why'd Jack kiss you?"

God, Jamie! It wasn't the first time Jack kissed her! And, well, if she was honest, she hoped it wouldn't be the last time. She had known Jack since she was small. She couldn't remember a time without him. Her brother drew Jack to them and Jack stayed for some unfathomable reason.

The first time Jack kissed Sophie was when she was seventeen. Jamie had gotten a girlfriend, his still current one, and Jack became curious about human relationships. Sophie explained to him what it meant to love. As best she could, anyway. She had never been in love before. At least, she didn't think so. Though, she was pretty certain what it felt like. She had seen enough movies and read enough comics to get an inkling of what love should be like. Or what she wanted it to be like.

Love was unconditional. Love was strong. Love made your knees weak and your heart pound in your ears. Love is taking their flaws and their faults and embracing them, no matter what. Love is appreciating every single inch of them. And love meant just seeing the other person happy. Whether they were with you or not. As long as they were happy and well, you were too. Love was never supposed to hurt.

As she was talking, he silenced her with a cold kiss. She wasn't against it. No, she leaned into it, taking his face in her hands and pressing herself against him until he pulled away. His face was red, a deep contrast with his pale skin and his white hair. Cold air was visible upon his lips.

His eyes were wide and he had no idea what he had done. He just felt like it was the right thing to do. Sophie wasn't going to complain. She liked it. Her heart still pounded to this day from the memory. Since then, Jack would kiss her every now and again. They would cuddle before she went to sleep on the nights he stayed late. He was cold. She had gotten to used to sleeping in the cold, she kept a fan by her bedside for nights Jack couldn't stay with her. She learned to like cold embraces with warm blankets.

Last night still left her with a buzz. It was a kiss to silence her again. She touched her lips, recalling how his lips actually felt sort of… not as cold? It was so strange.

And Jamie asked if they were together. She couldn't answer that. She knew it was impossible. There would be no way. For several reasons. One being that Jack was just like a big kid. He didn't really understand love. And another was that, well, he was Jack Frost. He wasn't even technically real.

She didn't know what they were. And she was certain Jack didn't feel nearly as strongly as she did. He was ignorant, but she was okay with that. She was okay with Jack being Jack. Their kisses made him smile and her heart would warm up and she could feel blood rush in every vessel of her body.

She loved him.

Like hell she'd ever tell her brother that.

Sophie was snapped out of her frustrated thoughts by children screaming with enjoyment beyond the backyard fence. She wondered what games they were playing by the pond that had them all so riled up. She smiled at the thought that she knew it wasn't just any pond they were playing at. It was Jack Frost's home. His domain and liar. Where he had been born and where he had stayed.

The smile faded when she realized the screams were not ones of mirth, but of terror. She quickly got to her feet, crossing over to the loose plank in the fence their mother kept open for easy escape. The dogs couldn't get through, but her children could. It proved simple for them to go to their favorite play spot growing up, but was not as easy to get through when they got older and bigger.

Sophie was still on the small side, but she did have to suck it in and duck to get through the gap. She flinched as her hair got caught in the wood and tugged it, ripping strands apart and off of her scalp in her rush to see what terrified the children.

She ran to the pond, a boy was screaming for someone to get a grown up. A girl was crying for 911. Another boy noticed Sophie and pointed to a figure laying in the grass. "HE'S DEAD!"

D-Dead? Oh, god! Her heart was racing. She stepped towards the body that lay in the grass, still and pale and… wearing a very familiar hoodie.

Sophie darted to the boy that laid on the ground and knelt beside him. No way. That wasn't possible. She looked him up and down, taking him in. His skin was actually not as pale as she thought. His cheeks were a healthy tint of pink. His dark, spiked hair swept across his forehead, slightly damp from sweat. In his hand, he helt a staff with a hooked end. The sweatshirt that usually was coated in frost bore signs that it indeed existed. The ice had melted leaving water stains that were slightly paler blue then the rest of the garment. Brown pants with leather tied at the calves. No shoes.

"J-Jack?"

"BOO!"

Eyelids fluttered open, revealing a stunning color of golden brown and the head jerked up. Sophie and the children screamed and she scrambled backwards, away from him. He sat up, the back of his sweatshirt darker, still damp for some reason, and laughed.

The kids, soon realizing he wasn't a zombie, joined his mirthful laughter. Sophie couldn't bring herself to even giggle. She was in shock. Her jaw hung open and her green eyes were as wide as possible. What was going on? What happened to him? She floundered, trying to form words but all she could do was release a whine.

Jack laughed and put a hand on her head. "Chill out, Soph. I was just playing."

"So you are Jack Frost." she whispered.

"Well, yeah." His grin was so wide it crinkled the corners of his eyes. He just looked so  _different_. And he was  _happy_.

"What happened?"

Jack's smile softened. His hand fell from her head to her hand and he squeezed it gently. His touch didn't change. Slight callouses and a soft palm. But his hand was  _so hot_  she was taken aback. Jack was  _warm_.

"I'll explain." he promised, then turned to the kids. "Did you guys really think I was dead?!"

"Well, you didn't wake up!" A boy cried indignantly.

Jack laughed. "Maybe if you tried waking me up like a normal person instead of poking me with sticks—"

"Maybe if you didn't sleep in the woods." the other boy retorted.

"Touché."

"Jack." The boy turned to her. He chuckled at her still stunned expression and used her shoulders to help himself stand up before pulling her to her feet.

"Okay, okay. Let's go. Man, it's hot." Jack pulled off his sweatshirt and pulled his wet teeshirt away from his skin. Sophie had no idea what Jack wore beneath his blue hoodie. He had never taken it off before. The band tee was actually very surprising. The brunette used his sweatshirt to wipe his face.

"… Did you go swimming or something?" Sophie asked. Why was he so wet everywhere?

"It wasn't my idea, but, yeah."

Sophie turned to the neighborhood children. "Don't go poking sleeping people with sticks anymore, you hear me?" she waved her finger at them as she walked off with Jack.

"Yeah, yeah!" they laughed and turned back to each other to discuss how strange the situation was.

Sophie gripped Jack's hand as they trekked up to the road. She stopped Jack as he made to walk into the street just as a car passed them. He stopped and laughed and scratched his temple with their interlinking fingers. His other arm was taken by his staff and sweatshirt.

He held the plank aside for her to duck under, being careful not to tangle her hair in it again. He threw his staff over the fence and followed her. Sophie stared at him. She could not keep her eyes off of him. He lifted his staff and and tilted his head to meet her gaze.

"What? Do I look weird?"

"Yes." Sophie said quickly. "No. You… uh…" Jack looked  _good._ Sophie didn't think she could admit out loud, but she honestly thought he looked… just so good. "You look different." Not in a good way. Not in a bad way. She wished she could explain how it was different, but he was just… gorgeous.

Jack just laughed and put a hand on her back. "Come on, let's show Jamie."

Sophie whistled and Lady lazily sauntered up to them. The two walked the dog in through the back door. Jack stopped and looked at the ground. A small smile played on his lips as he toed the floor. Glancing up, he noticed Sophie's confused expression.

"The linoleum is cold." he chuckled. "It's cold, Soph."

She couldn't help but smile at his wonder. He was discovering everything for the first time. He chuckled as his weight made the floor crackle in the placed it wasn't laid down properly. He stood on his toes, as if trying to make himself lighter, then dropped heavily on his heels. Sophie fed Lady a treat and took Jack's hand, calling for her brother.

"Dining room, Sophie!" he called to them.

Sophie led Jack to the room, continuously glancing at him. She turned to stare at him, walking backwards. She didn't care she was staring and his crooked smile teased her. She wanted to re-memorize him. She had gotten to know his previous appearance quite well. She knew she would never forget it.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer."

"What kind of comeback is that? What are you, from the 90s?"

"Hey, some of the best insults came from that decade, I'll let you know. Though, nothing like the 50s. Ya pole cat—hey, are those cats?" Sophie turned around. Jamie crouched in front of a box, holding up a kitten, his back to them.

"Yeah. Mom picked up some strays on the way home from the store."

"I think I brought one home, too…" Sophie looked to Jack. He rocked back on his heels and snickered.

Jack turned to question her and stopped. He tilted his head to the right. Then the left. Then stood up to match Jack's level. Jamie put a hand on Jack's head and pushed it backwards and forwards. Jack let him without protest.

"Seriously, do I really look that weird, now?"

"You're sweating."

"Well, it is summer."

"Sophie, what did you do to him?"

Sophie squeaked. "I didn't do anything!"

"Yes she did. She's a witch. She's totally changed the way I look. The fiend."

"I knew it."

"Are you two for real?" Sophie sighed.

"But, no, really, Jack. What happened?"

"Might want to get comfortable." Jack said and motioned towards the living room. "It's a long story."

Sophie took up three of the kittens and Jamie took two. In the living room, Jack dropped his sweatshirt into a chair and leaned his staff against the wall. His grey shirt read "Fun." with pop art. A band Sophie had never heard of, but whatever their style, she was sure Jack appreciated their name. Jack perched himself on the chair's armrest and looked between Jamie and Sophie as they entertained the kittens. Lady had come to investigate the new guests.

But the sibling's attention was on Jack.

He chewed his lip, figuring out exactly how to tell them. They couldn't freak out. Well, either way, they were going to freak out.

"Just… um… hold all questions until the end, okay?" They nodded. "Good."

So, he began.

"It's great being a Guardian. It really is." Jack nodded and smiled. "It's honestly the greatest honor and the best thing that's ever happened to me.

"There's a catch, though." Jack frowned. His memory rang with a voice of the past. "If enough kids stop believing… everything we protect disappears. And little by little, so do we."

Jamie and Sophie gasped. Their eyes wide, shared looks of horror were exchanged as their attention became all but neglectful of the animals on their laps.

"I don't have a globe like North or Sandy or Tooth or Bunny or Pitch. I don't really need one. None of us do. We all know exactly how many believers we have." Jack tapped his temple. "In here. It's kind of inherent knowledge. I think I had about six-seven believers?" He guessed. He wasn't sure anymore. The radar had since vanished.

"The Guardians tried to help. You guys tried to help. You all have done everything you guys could. Jack Frost is just… a passing phase. And I wouldn't mind it, you know. I didn't have any believers for three hundred years. I didn't need them to have power. When I became a Guardian, my power shifted. And, without them, I was disappearing. And… I didn't want to live like that.

"Everyone knows my name." Jack continued quietly. "My name is in a Christmas song. I'm 'just an expression.' To most, there's no personification. Jack Frost is used to describe the nipping at your nose and the frost on the windows." Jack shrugged. "So… I gave it up."

When he finished he gave them his usual crooked grin. The brother and sister gaped at him. The kittens mewed at Lady who licked at their faces. The room was strangely still.

"I know you talked about it a while ago, but I didn't think you'd actually…" Jamie trailed off.

"Yep." Jack nodded.

"What about the Guardians?" Sophie asked.

"I've… I've already said goodbye." Jack picked at a loose thread on the chair's arm and shifted uncomfortably. The memory was horribly painful. "They understood."

"… Were we part of your decision?"  _How_  did Jack know Sophie was going to ask that?

"Well," he refused to meet their gazes. He looked sown at his swinging foot and reluctantly replied. "I'd be lying if I said it wasn't part of the reason." He looked up at them. "I don't like the idea of life without you two. I'm… I was scared you'd grow up and leave me behind. Or… if you didn't… I just… I'm scared to think of the heartbreak, you know?" He took a deep breath. "I didn't want to watch you die without knowing I would be close behind."

The two looked to each other. They both set the kittens aside and walked up to a very confused Jack. Taking his hands, he adjusted himself on the arm of the chair so he wouldn't lose his balance. Ugh, this weight. But he never minded it. Jamie and Sophie gripped his hands tightly, thinking their hands were much less hot then he recalled.

"You're family, Jack." Jamie stated matter-of-fact. "No matter what. Human, Guardian, Jack Frost, or just Jack. You're my brother and best friend."

"We care about you Jack. And we support your choice." Sophie smiled. "We're going to be there for you every step of the way."

Jack smiled gratefully at them. He suddenly felt too hot and then arms were around him. He blinked, a bit shocked. Jamie and Sophie embraced him tightly. He raised himself from his seat to get better leverage to return it.

This was it.

He was home.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I know it's kind of awkward but I started the story off with Jack and Sophie kind of sort of already have some sort of almost established relationship. If it's confusing, let me know. I'll try an elaborate more. Probably have some flashbacks or something.
> 
> Thanks for reading~! I hope you liked this chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

"Oh, we have a guest?"

Sophie was curled up on the chair Jack had propped himself on. He was actually... shocked. He had never actually come face to face with any adult besides Jamie. He had no idea how to act. React. He just... stared at the woman.

She snorted and adjusted her glasses with a smile. "Hello, there."

"Uh... hi." Jack responded dumbly.

Adults. They don't respond well to fun all the time. He had seen how Jamie and Sophie acted around their mother. He had seen how other children acted around their parents. Jack knew he was not in a place to act like them.

"Mom," Jamie stood up and motioned to Jack. "This is... Jack."

"Jack, huh?" She smiled warmly. "So you're the boy my children won't shut up about."

Wait, they've talked to her about him? How much did she know? What did she know? His first name? His whole name? Should he even introduce himself as Jack Frost? What would she think? Probably nothing of it. Adults never looked too deeply, unlike children. They saw what adults did not.

Then again, there was an ignorance as a child and an ignorance as an adult. They changed as you grew up.

Jack slipped off the armrest and timidly stood next to Jamie. Sophie was at his back. "I'm... I'm Jackson Overland Frost." Memories of the dream he had last night were recalled. The dream was of the former life he could not recall. He had few memories, the best given to him by Toothiana. His full name was spoken by a rather frustrated mother in his youth. He wondered if he pulled a prank or what he had done to illicit that tone. He held out a hand. "Just call me Jack."

"So, Jack Frost, hm?" she chuckled, stepping forward to take his offer. "The way they talked about you as kids, they certainly made you sound like the myth."

"'Cause I am." Jack grinned. The woman laughed.

"I was wondering when I'd finally get to meet you. I'm Susan."

"Mom, he's staying here." Jamie interjected, putting a hand on Jack's shoulder. Jack looked to Jamie, raising an eyebrow.

"Sure," she said without a beat. "What would you guys like for dinner?"

"No, I mean he's staying the summer."

The woman paused a beat. She looked between her children—one steadfast, the other anxious—and met Jack's gaze. He felt as if he was under a microscope. She studied him, taking in his body language, his expression, the light of his eyes, the uncertain grinding of his teeth.

"Okay."

That was way too easy.

The woman shrugged and repeated her former question. Sophie suggested spaghetti, so the woman made a mental note and gave them a gentle smile. Jack wasn't quite sure what to make of Susan's motives, her easy agreement. She didn't even question where he came from. Though, he should be prepared when she did.

When Susan and Sophie finished their discussion of what was going to be for dinner. Susan turned back to Jack. Her face was kind and gentle. He was reminded vaguely of a face in his dream.

"How old are you, Jack?" she questioned.

Jack had to think for a moment, do some math and maybe some best guessing. "Eighteen...?"

She chortled. "Are you asking me or telling me?"

"Telling you." he decided.

"You know, I expected you to be much older." she pondered. "The way they talked about you."

"Well, I hope they didn't tell you anything bad. Like the time I knocked Jamie's baby tooth out." Jack smirked.

"Oh, no, Jamie didn't tell me about that."

"Oops."

Jamie elbowed him. "Jerk."

Sophie picked something out of Jack's hair and the boy turned to her. She held up a piece of a leaf and raised her eyebrow, looking him up and down from behind. Suddenly, he felt very embarrassed. He had slept in the dirt, was coated in sweat and probably reeked of pond water. He had never felt self conscious like this.

"I'll run a bath. You should probably get cleaned up." Sophie brushed past the boys and headed towards the stairs.

He watched her, short hair tied back into a ponytail bounced as she darted away. She gave him one last glance before disappearing. He turned to Jamie and Susan.

"Um... thanks. For letting me stay here." he regarded Susan sincerely. "I'll make it up to you, okay? I promise not to be a free-loader."

"It's no trouble, Jack. We take in strays all the time. As you can see." she motioned to the kittens that had seemed to taken to the Greyhound as a mother. "We always have room." She peered towards the staircase and whispered to Jack and Jamie. "And if you've gotten Sophie to relax around you, I suppose you aren't all bad." She winked at him.

"Now, Jamie, when Jack's finished washing up, you should get him some lunch. Once he knows where everything is, he's free to help himself."

"Okay, Mom."

"Seriously, Jack. We're fend for yourself here except for dinner."

"Uhh..." Damn. Jack had no idea how to make food of any kind. He had no idea how to prepare a dish or feed himself. He never had to eat before. Sure, he COULD eat, but that didn't mean he had to. He was never hungry. He couldn't recall ever being hungry, but something about his frame told him he knew it all too well in life.

"Okay," he conceded.

"Good."

Jack was uncertain and incredibly so. And he knew this was only the start of it. Even in the bathroom, Jack was so confused about what all those soaps were for. He never needed it. He never got dirty or smelly. Dirt never clung to him. Nothing did except for frost. And Sophie. He smiled in the soapy water at the thought of the times that Sophie would make him carry her or she refused to let him leave until she had enough of fastening herself to him.

Boy, was she clingy.

Jack spent a time reading the directions on the back of the shampoo and conditioner bottles. Okay. Those were for hair. Sophie had pointed out Jamie's body wash that he could use, which he assumed was just really smelly soap. It was. It reeked strongly of cinnamon. Well, he did smell pretty good. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt.

When Jack finished, he put on the clothes given to him. Jamie's clothes fit him pretty well. They shared a similar frame, although Jamie was slightly taller. It wasn't enough to make a difference.

Jack took a moment to look at himself.

He did look weird. Jack had never really cared about what he looked like. He thought he looked slightly roguish, if he didn't say so himself. Spiked hair and a daring glare.

Jack thought about the looks Jamie and Sophie were giving him. They were curious. Well, at least they weren't disgusted. He didn't look THAT different. Just healthier in skin color and darker in hair and eye color.

Jack headed downstairs, his footfalls heavy. At the foot of the stairs, he glanced back to the staircase and down to his feet. He wasn't sure if he liked this added weight. He almost started longing for flight. The boy shrugged it off and figured, hey, he chose this. There was going to be good along with the bad. He would have to take it and get used to it.

In the kitchen, Jamie and Sophie were sitting at the table, waiting for Jack. They smiled to him.

"Good to see you out of that hoodie and those pants." Jamie noted. "I was almost getting tired of seeing them."

"I would have worn those until you died just to tick you off." Jack quipped. Well, perhaps he would have changed his sweatshirt at some point. He had never taken off those pants. They were comfortable and practical. Unlike these shorts Jamie provided.

"Sit down and eat, Frosty."

Jack sat at the table and picked up the sandwich in front of him. He had never been a picky eater. He had eaten pretty much everything edible. Even candy roaches. They ate sandwiches and chips and drank soda, nothing fancy for a first mortal meal.

But Jack asked for seconds. And thirds. Jamie stopped him at his fourth. Sophie laughed, reminding him he could eat as much as he'd like at dinner. Jack hadn't realized how hungry he was. How much he could eat without feeling uncomfortable. Was that hunger? Wanting to eat more? Or gluttony?

They spent the afternoon making room for Jack to sleep in Jamie's room. Jamie suggested that Jack try on his shoes, which Jack found he did not like. He hated the confinement in his feet. Nope, there was no way he'd actually wear those. Jamie suggested that his shoes were actually too small. So, once they made room for Jack and set up a sleeping space on an air mattress, they gave Jack a pair of flip-flops to wear and took him to the thrift shop.

Great. A shopping trip. Jamie told him he wasn't wearing his clothes for the rest of his life, so they went clothing hunting. Jamie was broke, off of work for the summer since he had a job close to school. It was an hour away from their home in Burgess, so it wasn't worth going to and from. Sophie had a little money from baby sitting, but she dug into her saving-up funds. Which was actually a lot of money, considering she sold her art frequently at art galleries.

They bought Jack second hand clothes and Sophie let him pick out any trinkets he thought were cool. She noticed him looking at a few things with considerable interest, but he set them down and moved on.

In the car back home, Sophie dug through the bag. "Well, this should get you through the summer." she noted.

"Wait, I need more?"

Sophie considered him with furrowed brows. "... Do you not like having things?" she questioned frankly.

He never thought about it before. But... "I guess so. I don't really have any place to keep the things safe for a long time and... the few possessions I've tried to keep were time-damaged. I don't let myself... get attached to objects. Except my staff." Jack added quickly. "That's the one thing I don't think I'll ever be able to let go."

Nope. He was already very anxious being away from it for as long as he had. That was the one thing he had over the lonely three hundred years. The only thing that didn't deteriorate. It was the only thing he needed as well as his channel of power. It was a piece of him. He didn't realize how very connected he was to that staff until Pitch snapped it seventeen years ago.

That was possible the most painful thing he had ever experienced. Jack felt as if when the wood snapped, so did a bone, or some piece of his very soul. He was debilitated. The only thing that distracted him from the lingering pain was Baby Tooth.

Jack wondered if there was still that connection. He clutched his chest when he came to this realization. What if not every part of him was human? What if the staff wasn't just a stick, still? What if it still held a piece of Jack Frost inside of it? He didn't want to test it. He didn't think he'd be able to repair it if it snapped.

Back home—home... he liked the idea—they put Jack's clothes in their place.

"Um... so, what should I tell your mom?" Jack asked.

"You don't have to tell her anything." Jamie assured him. "She knows we're a good judge of character. She'll trust you if we do."

The boy frowned. "But... I'd feel bad. She's putting her trust in me without any reason."

"And you'd break that trust by lying." Jamie shrugged. "We can try the truth."

"You're crazy, Jamie." Sophie pipped in. "You really think she'll believe the truth?"

"Well... only one way to find out, right?"

They sat at dinner, Jack feeling jittery and nervous. This wasn't going to end well. Nope, not one bit. He wondered what he would do if Susan thought of her children and Jack as insane. Or if they were playing a game with her. He really just wanted to tell her the truth, he did. But... he wondered if a lie would be easier. But what kind of lie could he come up with?

Besides. Jack was always frank. He would rather be honest and snarky about it then tell blatant lies.

His heart pounded in his chest as he struggled through general conversation. He was still uneasy, speaking to Susan. She wasn't a threat, not by any means. He simply did not know how to interact with adults.

"So, Jack, can I ask where you came from? You don't have to answer if you don't want to." Susan asked.

Jack chewed his lip. Okay, simple. "I'm actually from Burgess."

"Really? How come I've never seen you around?" Burgess was a relatively tiny town. Everyone knew everyone. While they kept to themselves, they still knew their neighbors by name.

"I travel a lot." Jack shrugged. "I've been everywhere. But I come to see Jamie and Sophie a lot. I try and seem them every week."

"And I've never seen you." the woman chuckled. "How do you manage to do that? Travel, but still see my children as often as you do?"

"I flew." Jack smiled. Jamie and Sophie watched, very careful of the conversation.

"Impressive. Very impressive. Where's your family in all of this?"

Jack chewed on his words. "They're... um... They died. A long time ago."

Susan frowned and set her utensils down. "I'm... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up a touchy subject." she said quickly. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"No, no!" Jack insisted. "I do. And... really, it's okay. I barely have any memories of them." The words were coming out so easy. "I honestly didn't even know I had a family until recently." He noticed her confusion. She wasn't sure if she should question it or how to word her question. "I've pretty much had amnesia for three hundred years."

She thought he was exaggerating. "Didn't anyone take care of you?"

"No," Jack shook his head. "I've been on my own for so long. But I found a family, eventually. They tried to take care of me, but they couldn't help me. They've done everything and I'm so grateful to them. It hurt... having to leave them."

Her face was unreadable.

"He doesn't mean he's a troubled teen, Mom." Jamie assured her.

"I wasn't thinking that."

"He was dying, Mom."

Dying? Well, he guessed that was actually the right term for it. He was going to disappear and fade into nothing. The alarm that was raised caused Jack to push away from the table.

"What?!" Susan stood up. "Are you okay? Do you need a doctor? Should I take you to the hospital?"

"No, no," Jack laughed. "I'm fine. I'm perfectly fine now. Everything's all better."

"What was wrong with you?"

Jack scratched the back of his head. "It's going to sound ridiculous."

"Dying isn't ridiculous."

Sophie took his hand under the table and squeezed it. She was there for him. He linked his fingers with hers and glanced at her before turning to Susan. "I... um... didn't have any believers."

She was quiet for a moment. Gears were working, trying to make sense of all of this. She tilted her head, not seeming to understand and Jack wasn't surprised. No one would understand something like that unless they were familiar with the world he was from.

"It's only fair that I tell you the truth, so... Let me start from the beginning. It was 1712 ... ."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I honestly had no idea what I was going to put in here. It's probably just going to be one of those ongoing fics that are 50ish chapters long (I mean, I'm writing Jack's whole life guys). I have no idea. Because I got a BURST of an idea for what can be coming up in the next two years of Jack Frost's life. And it kind of includes a certain three other characters not in this universe... But shhh I didn't say anything!
> 
> Also, romance is cute, yes? I promise the next chapter will have some of it! I don't have much in these few chapters. Just enough to sort of tease you. I'll have some fluffs next time!


	4. Chapter 4

The kitchen was silent and still once Jack finished his story. He chewed his lip, watching Susan as she sat back thoughtfully. Her children were wary of her movement, waiting for her to say something. Anything.

"It's true, Mom." Jamie said, breaking the silence. "All of it."

She held up a hand to silence him. Jack could see thoughts churning and her mind reeling. His grip on Sophie's hand tightened. She twisted herself to face him fully and placed her other hand on her intertwined fingers.

Sketchbooks and photographs were place in front of Susan. Jack's staff leaned against the wall behind him. There wasn't much proof of, well, anything. She couldn't see him in the photos. Sophie's pictures through the years displayed before the woman.

This was bad. This was awful. This didn't work, Jack could already tell.

"You see," Susan pointed to one of Sophie's colored sketches of Jack Frost. "This is who I thought my children were talking about when they spoke of Jack Frost as children. They used their imagination and this is the shared image they came up with. As a mother, I was proud. Not many of the other children really had that kind of creativity anymore. We live in a digital age, right? Most children lose interest in playing pretend. Jamie's friends were in on it, though. And so was one of Sophie's friends. But even they stopped talking about Jack Frost after a while."

Susan flipped through the pages carefully. "Jamie and Sophie never did. They just stopped calling him Jack Frost. Left it at Jack. They talked about this boy I'd never met since they were children and I knew they were keeping some sort of secret. They would stop talking sometimes when I walked in. There was sometimes an empty seat somewhere, as if it was actually occupied.

"You two might not realize it, but I did notice the weird things. It first started when you were kids. The one time, I put Sophie down for a nap." She raised an amused eyebrow at the girl. "You were fighting it so hard. So, I left you in your room, knowing you. And knowing you'd tire yourself out enough to pass out. But… I heard you laughing and playing and talking to someone. No one was there… but I watched you for a while. Then, you were  _lifted_  off the ground. By some invisible force. It brought you over to the bed and laid with you. And you passed right out. It was the strangest thing up to that point. You seemed to be floating, as if you were sleeping on an invisible person. And once you were out, you were tucked in, the window opened. And I walked in, trying to make sense of what just happened."

Jack's eyes widened. He remembered that. He was playing with Jamie when he heard the struggle from next door. Jamie told him that sometimes Sophie didn't like going down for naps and his mother had trouble. So, Jack took it upon himself to help settle her down. He quickly tired her out and put her to sleep before going back to his games with Jamie. But… she saw that? He didn't even notice she was there!

"There were other things. More floating children. Disappearing food or drink. Wondering how you two got onto the roof. I doubted you climbed. Pictures of a friend that never aged or changed and seemed so unreal." Susan tapped the sketchbook. "Pictures of adventures with Santa and the Easter Bunny. I wanted to believe my children were just creative, but… the stories never went away. Even to this day, I'd hear my children talking about the Sandman and the Tooth Fairy as if they truly believed they were real."

"Because they are, Mom." Sophie said quietly.

Susan didn't react to the comment. She studied the images in front of her. Jamie stood up and left. Jack wondered where he was going before turning back to the woman.

"I wasn't sure what it was. Ghosts… magic… I almost wanted to believe my children were a witch and wizard, like the stories I grew up on." Susan chuckled. "But there always seemed to be  _ice_  and  _snow_ involved. Even in the summer. I once saw them skating on the frozen pond. In July." Jack couldn't help but grin at the fond memory. It was a terrible idea, but they had fun. "They didn't get their Hogwarts letters when they were eleven, so I had to believe it was something more then that. I just… wasn't quite sure what."

Jamie had returned. He placed a crystalline snowglobe in front of his mother. It was empty, void of the water or the "snow" that would fill it. There wasn't so much as a figure to stand in it.

"This is a Christmas gift from Jack. I was nine when he gave it to me." Jamie sat down. "It's made of ice. Go, on. Hold it."

Susan carefully lifted the object, her eyes wide. She shifted her grip to prevent her hands from getting too cold. "Strange gift to give a nine year old." she commented.

"Just shake it." Jamie insisted.

The woman regarded him before shaking it. Inside, images appeared. Tiny people—no, tiny  _Guardians_  appeared. Jack had given this to Jamie as a reward for his unwavering faith in them. He told Jamie that if he ever felt himself losing that faith, he should shake the snowglobe. Jack had worked really hard to make this. North helped him. It was his best accomplishment at the time. Jack was so proud of himself and he was so happy Jamie loved it.

The snowglobe showed North, instructing the yetis on how to properly built a toy. Then Sandman, riding on an amazing aircraft as he spread his sand to the sleeping children of the world. Toothiana, giving directions to her mini-selves and becoming excited when brought a tooth. Bunnymund, painting an Easter Egg with other bipedal eggs tottering around him. And finally, Jack Frost throwing a magic snowball at a group of kids and joining in their resulting snowball war.

Susan set the globe down and turned to Jack. He still could not make out anything. Was she scared? Was she angry?

"So, all of this is real?" she motioned to the proof in front of her.

"Yes." Jack replied firmly.

"And… my children are heavily involved in all of this?" she pressed on.

"Well, they were," Jack frowned. "I don't think I'm able to bring them back into it. Unless one of the Guardians decides to come for regular visits… No, I don't think they'll be involved in it much anymore"

"Well, then." Susan stood up, taking empty plates. "I suppose I've got a lot of stories to hear about, hmm?" She eyed Jamie and Sophie who's faces lit up. "I would have liked to have known about all of this before. Then I wouldn't have worried so much."

Jack laughed. "They were in good hands, I promise."

Susan took the plates to the sink and looked back at him. "And… we don't have to worry about that Pitch Black, do we?"

Jack shook his head. "No way. He's done. Besides, these two aren't afraid of him. He wouldn't be able to hurt them."

"What about you?"

Jack laughed. "I'm not afraid of him, either."

"Good." Susan sat back in her seat and took up a photograph. She looked from Jack to the picture. Her eyes were calculating and slightly puzzled. It was an image of Jack and Jamie that Sophie quickly snapped without either realizing it. Jack sat upon his staff, raining snow down on the thirteen year old boy that was moving to swiftly kick the staff. Jack remember the pain of falling to the ground, not pulling away fast enough. But they both laughed and fooled around.

"Hm. This suits you better." Susan laid the photography down and motioned to Jack.

"E-Excuse me?" he stammered.

"This… humanity, I guess. Looks better on you." The woman got back to her feet and turned to make herself coffee.

"You can see me?"

"I guess I can." she shrugged.

Jack took up the photograph and turned to the siblings. They wore the widest grins and he was left completely stunned. It ended… much better then he expected. He had the help of Jamie and Sophie, so he supposed he didn't sound like a lunatic. He released a heavy breath of air and almost laughed with relief.

"So, you don't have any papers, I'm guessing, huh?"

"Papers?" Jack questioned, looking to her. What was she talking about?

"Birth certificate, drivers licence, social security card."

"Oh." Yeah, that was a big no. But did he really need that stuff? How important was it? Susan only hummed as a response. Uh… Jack suddenly felt quite unprepared for this life. This was going to be a pain, wasn't it?

During dessert, Jamie and Sophie told their mother of the fantastic adventures Jack Frost took them on. They told her of the fun games and the best times they shared. The two were so excited to be able to talk about it with someone other than themselves.

Jack was just left in wonder at how well this was turning out to be. Way too well. He knew better then to get ahead of himself and say the rest of his life would be this easy.

The boy ruffled his spiked hair and laughed a bit. This family… he made the right choice in joining this family and being with these two. Their single mother was so accepting of everything they've done. He was reminded of when Jamie introduced his girlfriend to him. She was open and believed in him.

But Susan did require more work then Laura did. Laura, he froze a few things, made some icicles, made it snow and there! It was done!

Susan deserved the truth, though. All of it. And she was finally receiving it, After all those years and after all those strange occurrences that raised questions, she was being given answers.

It was late when Susan retired to bed, promising to help Jack adjust to this life as best she could. Jack, Jamie, and Sophie stayed in the living room, still too excited for sleep. They talked until their voices were hoarse and gathered some pillows and blankets to keep comfortable. Perhaps it was a bit too comfortable for Jamie. He fell asleep before Jack and Sophie.

Sophie was used to staying up late. She didn't have a normal sleep schedule like her brother. Jack had no sleep schedule. His first night of sleep was the night before. He was still uncertain about the whole sleeping thing.

Sophie and Jack laid close to each other on the floor, talking in hushed whispers with goofy smiles. Blankets wrapped around them, tangling in Jack's long legs. They stifled giggles as Jack tried to kick them apart, failing.

The little nest they made on the living room floor was warm. The air was cool, but just enough to keep comfortable. Jack didn't know how he felt about the warmth yet. But he knew he liked the warmth Sophie provided.

The girl ended up clinging to him. Arms wrapped around his middle, her head laid on his chest. She was quiet and listened to his beating heart as he stroked her blonde hair. He wondered if she was comfortable like this. He knew she was familiar with a bed, something he was much less familiar with. Was she going to sleep on he floor? Jack knew he could. He could probably sleep anywhere.

"You're warm." she mumbled.

"Yeah." Jack chuckled.

"Jack?" she turned up to him. Her big green eyes were curious and searching. He hummed to signal for her to go on. "Do you think you'll regret this?"

He shook his head. "Nah. Though, I might miss it. No, I will miss it. I can't regret this." He lifted his head to see her better. "How can I regret a chance to stay with you two?"

"You love us that much?" Sophie's voice was barely above a breath.

"I guess I do." he nodded. He still wasn't sure about the whole "love" thing, but he was sure he was talking about a different kind of love. The kind of love Jamie had for Sophie and vice versa. He was certain he cared about them like that. He knew he wanted to protect and defend them and while he didn't have any magic, he knew he wasn't defenseless. He didn't know what he would do if anything happened to Jamie or Sophie.

He brushed hair out of her eyes and held her cheek. She moved herself so that she settled in the crook of his neck. Her breath ghosted over his skin and it causes him to shiver a bit. Weird. Shivers… he didn't get them often.

"We love you, too, Jack." Sophie linked her fingers with his that splayed across her face. Jack pulled away, untangling and retangling in a more comfortable position and waved their joined hands idly.

Why did they do this? It just felt so natural and so comfortable. He hadn't done this with anyone before. He had seen people act this way, sometimes it seemed forced and sometimes it looked strained. Some were trying too hard to do this while others fell into it with ease.

Most of the people he'd seen like this claimed they were in love.

Jack wasn't really sure. He still didn't understand what love was. And… from what he'd seen, some people that did this weren't in love. At least, he didn't think they were… Over the years he watched the humans join and separate. Most of the time, they separated.

He never wanted to be apart from Jamie and Sophie. Never. The very idea that he would lose them in any way, even if they didn't die, terrified him. What if they broke apart like he'd seen so many friendships play out?

Sophie had brought his fingers to her lips and kissed each one of them before turning his hand and placing butterfly kisses on his knuckles. Suddenly, all his fears went away. No, never. He knew he'd never lose them in such a way.

Jack rolled over, causing Sophie to squeak and a smirk played on his lips as he loomed over her. She giggled until he secured her hands beside her head, trapping her down. Her doe eyes met his own. Pink spread across her cheeks.

"Oh, no, the bad guy caught me," she played in whispers. "Don't hurt me, mister!"

His heart was pounding in his chest. What was he even doing? He didn't think he was playing. She thought he was. Maybe he should just keep going with her game. But he wanted to finish what he started.

Jack leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. He was timid at first. He wanted to test out of humanity made the experience different. What if the effects weren't as strong?

A shy kiss became a gentle one. Her taste was sugary from the ice cream she had. Her soft lips formed perfectly against his own. He pulls back and his heart wants to leap from his throat and his face feels so _hot_  he can't stand it. He's suddenly wide awake and wanting to bring their lips back together for more.

The usual soaring feeling had intensified. His lips tingled as if hers had been electrified. His head was spinning and the girl beneath him was breathless. He felt high and remembered he needed to breathe.

"Can you kiss me again?"

Jack chuckled and glanced up to the man sleeping on the couch. One more quick kiss wouldn't hurt anyone.

He pressed his lips upon hers once more, savoring the taste, breathing her in, their bodies being brought together as Sophie broke free of his grip and pushed herself into him.

 _Sophie Sophie Sophie Sophie_. His mind was full of her.

They settled back. He made himself comfortable next to her. She stared, dazed at where he had been.

"Jack… I…" her brows furrowed. Words tried to escape her pink lips and she bit them back. There was a struggle, but Jack was patient. Let her say what she needed to.

"I'm tired." she sighed.

So, they closed together into comfortable snuggles. His arms wrapped around her securely. They bid each other good night and for the first time, he was able to stay while she slept.


	5. Chapter 5

North had summoned the Guardians to the workshop. Jack Frost was perched on a table, waiting for them anxiously. He was shaking. He had to set his staff aside to hide the fact his hands were shaking as bad as they were and shoved them into his sweatshirt pockets. He denied food and drink offered to him by elves and yetis. North could sense his unease. Jack knew he wasn't hiding it well.

And when the other Guardians arrived, they turned to North and asked if there was trouble. Nicholas St. North frowned and nodded to Jack. He was up. He took a deep breath and gave them his famous crooked smirk.

"Lighten up," he laughed. "You look like someone died."

The air was somber. They all knew their youngest and newest member was struggling. They've done everything they could to help. Bunnymund had a set of ice eggs go out in places that still had winter during the Easter and painted another with winter patterns. Sandman had sent out dreams to the places Jack told him he would be visiting and further. Every child had at least one dream about Jack Frost. North had given out Guardian-themed toys during Christmas. Toothiana had reminded those that had forgotten about Jack just how much fun they had with the winter spirit.

All of their efforts were for not. They had very little effect.

"How many believers, Jack?" North questioned.

He frowned. "… Ten." he replied.

Toothiana rested next to him and put a hand on his back. Jack gave her reassuring smile. "Jack… we're not going to let you disappear."

"I know." Jack nodded. "I know you guys could keep me here. But… I don't want that kind of life, you know? A constant flux of believers and non-believers. Have power just to have it snatched back." It would be exhausting and he refused to keep up with that. After the emotional turmoil and distrust brought on by three hundred years of solitude, he wouldn't be able to handle something as distressing as  _that_.

"So… you're just going to give up?" Bunnymund demanded. "No, that's not what you do, Jack Frost and you know it. You  _never_  give up."

"You're right." Jack nodded. "I'm not giving up on life just… this one." The Guardians simply stared at him, not quite understanding. Sandman had a sand question mark above his head. "I'm going to give up being Jack Frost. I'm going to ask the Man in the Moon to give me back my humanity."

Toothiana covered her mouth in shock. North and Sandman exchanged glances. Bunnymund was clearly taken aback.

"Is that even possible?" Toothiana asked.

Jack shrugged. "I don't know. But… I'm going to make my case to MiM and… hopefully he'll listen." Jack felt the strength in his voice giving out. Feathered arms wrapped around him. His hands reached up to clutch them and he leaned into Toothiana's embrace.

"You're here to say good bye." she stated. He nodded, his heart heavy in his chest. "We're going to miss you, Jack."

"I mean… it might not be for good." Jack smiled weakly. "Jamie, Sophie and I are going to keep trying to catch North on Christmas. We're going to keep an eye out for Bunny on Easter. We're still going to watch Dreamsand. And… you know, if I have kids, I'm going to have to make sure they get to sleep if they want a tooth fairy to collect their baby teeth."

If he had kids… wow. He had never thought of that. The idea actually… kind of excited him. This only brought Toothiana's arms around him tighter.

"We'll keep an eye out for you guys." Jack nodded, his vision blurring and his chest tightening. "But we will have to say good bye for good eventually. So… if we don't… I don't… I just wanted to say thank you. For everything. These past years have been the best of my life and I'm so grateful."

_"Jack."_

"You've accepted me. You've given me a family."

_"Jack!"_

"But… I have another one that will be just as welcoming. So I won't be lonely, I promise."

_"Wake up!"_

Jack's eyes shot open. Oh… it was a dream. Jack sat up and rubbed his forehead. No, not a dream. A memory from last week. He looked up and his friend Jamie was eyeing him with worry. What?

"You okay, man?"

"Yeah, just a…" Jack touched his face. It was wet. Why? He rubbed his face. "Yeah, just a dream."

Just the only sing most heart-wrenching moment in his life. He already missed them.

Jack stretched and dried his face before rolling out of bed. Or, rather the air mattress that served as his bed. Jamie said he was going bring Jack back to his apartment near school. Jack honestly wasn't too sure about the plan. He had never met Jamie's roommates and he felt like the school was a bit too far.

He wanted to be close to Sophie, too.

"So… why am I waking up?" Jack looked up to Jamie who usually never woke him unless it was an accident. Like tripping or accidentally being too loud while getting ready.

"Mom needs you to help her apply for citizenship."

Jack balked. "What?"

"Well, it's the easiest way to get you into the system." Jamie shrugged. "She doesn't want to make up some crazy story for you. You've got to. And no, I don't mean actually crazy. Try and make it sound as dull and boring as possible."

"You're no fun."

Jamie rolled his eyes. "I'll help out after I do some laundry. Go on."

So, Jack sat with Susan at the kitchen table, filling out paperwork. It was perhaps the most mind-numbingly boring thing he had done in his entire life. He tried to make something fun out of it. He really did. But this… there was no possible way.

"Can't we just forge documents?"

"No, we're doing this the legal way."

"Come on, I know some pretty good shady people that can do it. Or well, I know who they are."

"No, Jackson."

"Really? Jackson?"

"Keep at it or so help me I will call you Jackson for the rest of your life."

"Fine, fine!"

Jamie and Sophie joined them, helping out. He wondered if this was going to cost any money. He felt guilty. This family had already spent money for him and a lot of it. This whole process was annoying.

"You know, we can save a lot of time if I just marry Sophie instead of getting a green card and living in the States for five years and then becoming a citizen, a spouse really seems to make this go faster. Where are we saying I'm from again?" Jack commented jokingly. While it rose a laugh from Susan, it caused Sophie to turn redder then the paint she was using and for Jamie to give him an incredulous look. At least someone liked his joke.

"Canada."

"What if I get deported?"

"Then we'll go looking for those dealers you were talking about."

"Alright!" Jack pumped his fist.

They reviewed answers and the four of them were on the same page. Susan flipped through print outs of information concerning becoming a citizen and rubbed her forehead. She handed him about thirty pages of what appeared to be questions. "You're going to have to know those, so, I guess familiarize yourself with them."

Jack flipped through it. An English and Civics test? Was she joking? "Ma'am, have you forgotten I've been around the three hundred years and have lived through this? I've been around longer then this country, thank you very much."

"Well excuse me, Mr. Jack Frost. You don't seem much like the history buff. Or like someone who would pay attention to any country's history."

"… Alright, fair enough." It was true, if this were any other country, he would probably know absolutely next to nothing about their government. But, while Jack was still young, he was curious about this forming country's birth. Yes, some things changed over time. But he was still involved in learning about this country specifically because he thought that maybe MiM had created him here for a reason. No, it just so happened to be he was a Colonist.

This family was small. It was broken a long, long time ago but they had never seen it that way. Susan's husband left without a word, no means of contact, not even a phone call. But they got by. Jamie and Sophie understood they had to work for it if they wanted nice things. But neither were greedy. For as long as Jack knew them, they weren't brats either, unlike most children. They were close and tight knit and loving. The siblings didn't worry about their father or lack-there-of.

As they were finishing up the forms, Jack was wondering how he could ever make this up to them. They showed so much kindness and Susan expressed compassion for a complete stranger. He needed to show just how grateful he was for them. But how? What could he do?

Jack looked out the back window, seeing the rocky ledge by the pond. … That might work.

"Can I borrow a shovel?" Jack asked.

"What?"

"Just… I need to borrow one."

"Okay," Jamie furrowed his brows uncertainly.

Jack slung the shovel over his shoulders as he left the house without an explanation. Ducking through the loose fence plank, he trekked to the pond, nodding to kids he passed. They were skipping stones and climbing trees, a girl reading a book under a tree. They waved and smiled back at him.

It was  _so good_  to be seen. He had been able to really revel in it the day before when Sophie and Jack went to the park. He was able to play with the children without the risk of any of them running through them. Jack chased young children and Sophie, pretending to be a monster while the young girls pretended to be witches with magic that protected the princes. Sophie was the cackling hag that tried to trick the smart princes and witches. It ended with a dogpile on Jack and parents summoning their children to go home.

Jack walked through the forest, counting trees. Three this way. Two across. One that way. There. A tree with a snowflake carved into the trunk. This was it.

"You're a really bad ninja, Sophie." He stuck the shovel into the dirt and turned to the girl that had tried to secretly follow him.

"Are you digging up a body?" Sophie asked.

"Nope."

"Trying to find Wonderland?"

"That's a rabbit hole, Soph. Alice didn't dig it."

"… I should probably watch the movie, huh?"

"If you do, don't watch the Tim Burton one." Jack grinned. "Excellent director. Just sad he didn't do more original stuff."

"Frankenweenie was good!" Sophie defended.

"Point is, watch the original animated one." Jack nodded.

"So… what are you doing?"

"You'll see." Jack smirked, his eyes twinkling.

So, he got to work. Sophie offered to help but Jack insisted he worked alone. He was getting tired already. He had barely just begun. Halfway through, his hands began to blister, which was a new sensation for him. Sophie quickly left and he continued to dig. It hurt, but he sucked it up and worked, searching for the object of his hunt. It was right here. But how far down was it?

Sophie returned and made him stop momentarily. She cleaned his blisters and wrapped his hands and then put some gloves on him. Jack thanked her, kissed her cheek, and went back to work. The children seemed to have noticed something was going on. They saw him digging and came to investigate.

They sky was red with a summer sunset when Jack finally hit something. He cried out with excitement and Sophie peered into the hole. After he dug out the old, rotten, wooden object Sophie took the shovel from him. He adjusted the box and pulled himself out of the hole that was much deeper then he recalled. Sophie helped him pull the 3'x5' chest out the dirt. Hands on his lips, he sighed and nodded, content.

"Most of it is probably trash, but there's probably some good stuff in here." Jack said as he opened the chest to look at his old treasures.

"I thought you said you didn't keep anything." Sophie breathed, taking in the assortment of knick-knacks and rotting trinkets.

"Doesn't mean I didn't try." Jack shrugged. He noticed the children peering around trees and through them, trying to see what Jack had from a distance. He lifted a old, rusted bayonet from the chest and aimed it. "Bang bang!"

The children squealed and laughed and he beckoned them closer. He showed them some of the things he had collected over the years, explaining what they were and where they came from. Stars were sparkling through the trees when Jack handed them each a coin from a bag full of them he had. They thanked him and Jack put everything back in the chest before Sophie helped him carry the chest and shovel back to the house.

"Mom!" Sophie called from the front door. They were both covered in dirt, Jack much more-so then Sophie. "Jamie!"

Susan turned on the porch light before opening the front door and looking Sophie and Jack up and down. "Were you do hiding a body or something?"

"How come everyone assumes I killed someone?" Jack clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes. "And here, I thought I would give you something nice for being so trusting. But I guess you don't  _actually_  trust me."

"What are you—…. Jack, what is  _that_?!"

Susan stepped onto the porch and looked down at the box with wide eyes. … Well, it was the size of a coffin. Maybe he wasn't assisting his case. Jack opened it to show what was inside.

Jamie made it to the door and whistled. "Whoah."

"I mean… I didn't take care of anything. It's been underground for about a hundred and fifty years. A couple of things accumulated over the years." Jamie and Susan knelt in front of the box and pulled out portraits, a vase, some clothes. There were a lot of children's toys. Three rifles. There was currency from every part of the globe. There were some weapons of different kinds. Tribal masks and ceremonial garments.

"I was a bit of a klepto." Jack admitted. "I wanted to try and find some things that were just as immortal as I was. I don't know what's actually worth anything, but… I hope you can find something. It's all yours."

Susan gaped at him. "You… you're not serious, Jack. You don't have to, really."

"No, no. I owe you. You're putting me up and paying for stuff and helping me for later in life. You guys are amazing."

"Jack—"

"I don't need it. I haven't touched it in so long. This stuff isn't in the best condition, but… maybe some things are still in decent condition." Jack carefully picked up one of the object. He flinched when it fell apart in his hands. Chuckling, he dropped the remains. "Oops."

"Oh man… thanks, Jack." Jamie said sincerely. "Thank you so much."

Sophie dug further into the the box. She hissed, pulling her hand back. Her finger bled and she grumbled, diving back in to pull out a shining blade. "Oh." her eyes widened. "Oh! It's gold!"

"Oh. Right. Yeah, that's real gold." Jack commented, remembering how he obtained the golden daggar. That was one of the cooler things he stole. Also the most recent. Unlike the other blade, there was very minimal rust on it.

"… We can get rich off of this." Sophie's big green eyes took in the gold.

"Not rich but… we could probably make pretty penny from it." Jamie said, studying it.

"All yours."

"Jack," Susan turned to him, eyes brimming with tears. "Are you sure? These are reminders of your other life. We can't just take them…"

"Let me keep my clothes and staff and it'll be okay. I don't have any attachments to these." Jack shrugged. "It's fine. Really. I don't want any of this—whoah!"

Jack was pulled into an embrace. Susan held him tight and stroked his hair tenderly. He timidly returned the hug, shocked.

"Thank you, Jack."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly don't know how the whole immigration thing works. I did some research. And I looked about getting a birth certificate and seriously, that shit is hard to get if you don't have one. So, immigration. Yep. Jack's Canadian. Pfft.


	6. Chapter 6

This whole immigration thing was starting to get annoying. Too many questions, too many lies, so much to keep up with. Jack, needless to say, was quite frustrated with it. He was suspicious and he knew it.

Turns out, it would take about six months minimum to get it.

Jack was really starting to considering going to a guy.

To distract him from his brooding, Jamie and Sophie would often take him out. Sophie would take him to her babysitting jobs with her, Jamie would take him to the arcade. They all went to Sophie's gallery showings, Jamie and Jack tricking people into buying her work.

Jack was never a person to sit still anyway. He didn't like being cooped up in a house. He wandering the town often. Their neighbors all knew who he was. They didn't know where he came from or how he got there, but they knew the Bennetts were taking care of him. And that he was fantastic with children.

All the children loved him. He somehow knew how to connect to each one. What the parents didn't know was that he had watched them. As an invisible winter spirit, he studied the children of Burgess and got to know them. The children didn't question how he was able to make them smile without batting an eye.

A month later, Jack had realized time seemed to shift differently. A month felt like years. To Jack, who had been immortal, time went by in the blink of an eye. Ten years felt like one. And now, he knew he would expire. It seemed as if his unconscious mind switched his perception on how time worked and told him he needed to savor what he had of it.

The family was going through the many items Jack had left them with. They had sold the items that held any value, donated some more interesting objects that had history to a museum. They decided to keep some of them and put them on display, such as the ceremonial masks from Asia (Sophie insisted).

Going through the box, Jack had actually forgotten he collected some of the things they dug out. Including a tiny box that Susan had trouble opening.

He stared at it, totally forgetting how brash he actually was in his early years. Not much changed, honestly. But this was something even he was surprised he did. Man, did Jack have gall. If he had known what he knew now, then, he would never have taken this.

Jack took it from her and twisted a trick lock before opening it. Glowing golden sand laid inside.

"Sand?" Susan quirked her head curiously.

"Jack, is that—?" Jamie took the box from him.

"Dreamsand." Jack nodded.

"Dream sand?" Susan questioned.

"Sandy's Dreamsand." Jack laughed. "I had no idea who he was for about fifty years. I just knew he was like me. I saw him only once, but his Dreamsand appeared all over the world. It made me feel like I wasn't really alone when I saw it. So… I took some."

"… You stole the Sandman's sand." Susan repeated bluntly.

"Well. It was always really cool." Jack ran a finger over it and small dolphins rose and danced around each other. "I didn't realize just how powerful he really was. Or how old. He's pretty much like a god in our world. But it's hard to think that way when you actually meet him. He's kind, benevolent, but can really kick some butt. He's the only one that really scared Pitch. I was kind of ignorant back then and nabbed some of his sand." Jack shrugged.

Jamie closed the box and placed it in Jack's hands. "This is yours." Jamie said decidedly. "You keep it."

Jack smiled and clutched the box tighter. "Thanks."

One more thing to help remind him of his former life and his family. His chest throbbed as he pocketed the box. Susan rubbed his back before turning back to the almost empty chest.

During the nights when Jack, Jamie, and Sophie would sit on the porch roof and watch the Dreamsand, Jack made attempts at climbing onto the higher roof. Sophie would protest and Jamie had to brace him or catch him. When Jack almost fell off the roof altogether, he stopped trying. He just wanted to get closer to the floating sand. It didn't often get this low unless it was going through the windows to reach the inhabitants.

Now, Jack had a little bit to savor and was in easy reach when he needed it.

In July, Jack was becoming more anxious. Next month, he and Jamie would be moving back into Jamie's apartment. Jack didn't want to be a burden to Susan much longer, but he didn't want to leave Sophie so far behind.

Susan was sharp, though. One night, while Jack was reading a story Jamie had written, Susan sat herself next to him. He glanced to her from his upside-down position and flashed a smile in greeting before turning back to the pages. Jamie had wanted a proof-reader and Jack volunteered. They both knew Sophie wasn't much of a reader, as much as she tried. She wasn't very good with grammar, either. The job had fallen on Jack.

"How do you feel about moving in with Jamie, Jack?"

Jack almost dropped the printed sheets of paper and looked back at her. What brought that up?

"Um… I'm nervous." Being away from Burgess. Being away from Sophie. "I don't think his roommates will appreciate a free-loader as much as you do."

Susan laughed. "No, I didn't think so, either." She set her laptop on the coffee table and turned the screen towards him. "I did some looking around. I think I found something that might be a better plan."

Jack turned himself right-side up and leaned forward. On the screen, he couldn't quite make sense of what the page was trying to tell him. A picture of a building and too many words. He furrowed his brow, and read the larger text.

"… What is this?"

"An apartment." Susan explained. "Three bedroom. One bathroom, a kitchen, a living room, and a spare room." He looked to her, his eyes wide. "It's between Jamie's and Sophie's schools. They'd still have to drive a bit to get there, but the listing is pretty cheap. I think if we can get you and Sophie a job, you'd all be able to afford it."

"H-Huh?"

"We can use the money from the sword we sold online for a down-payment, but you three are going to have to pay for the rest."

Jack looked to the listing and studied the picture. This woman was incredible.

"I didn't think you'd want to shack up with strangers. Or only see Sophie when she goes to visit or Jamie comes home." Susan folded her arms. "Sophie said she was going to miss you. So, I thought the three of you might want some place to call your own."

"Susan…. You've already done so much for me. Why?" Jack managed to say thought a tight throat.

"You've been watching over my kids for so long. Now it's time for someone to watch over you, right? Besides. I'm still expecting you to take care of them. It's hard to be their Guardian when they're separated, right?" Susan offered him a smile. "We can call the landlord and reserve the listing."

"I don't know what to say… Thank you." Jack put a hand over his chest, touched by her sincere concern for him.

"I thought you might appreciate it." She met his gaze with a careful smile before closing the laptop and standing up. As she made to move, she stopped and turned to him with curiosity. "Jack?"

Her sudden change in tone worried him. He met her eyes. "Yeah?"

"Is there something going on with you and Sophie?" she questioned.

Oh. OH. Jack felt hot and embarrassed. Why? He didn't know. He stumbled over a jumble of words he couldn't quite form properly. He shook his head to clear his head. Nope. Didn't work. "W-What do you mean?"

"Just, I saw… You know. Never mind. It's your business." she shook her head and moved towards the door.

Did… did something happen? Did he do something wrong? He stared at the pages in his hands, suddenly very confused. He felt like he had been caught doing something he shouldn't have. What was it though?

He was left, trying to read the pages in front of him but his thoughts prevented him from taking in more than a sentence or two at a time. Sophie. Sophie…. What was going on between them that Susan noticed?

When Jamie came in to ask about Jack's progress, Jack sat the papers down and looked up at the man who's excited expression turned curious.

"I got a few pages done." Jack said. "This is really good. Just a few mistakes. And the story is just amazing."

Jamie sighed with relief and sat on the table across from Jack. He studied the boy before flipping through the work. He nodded and skimmed the words before him. Jack was proud of Jamie. Jamie was an aspiring writer who was writing a piece to send in to publishing companies. A sample of a book he was working on writing.

Jamie smiled at the compliment. But it fell, replaced with concern. "You okay, Jack? You seem distracted."

"Um…" Jack hesitated to talk with Jamie about this. Maybe he should talk with Sophie instead? He wondered if she would even want to. No… no, he'd talk about it with Sophie. "It's nothing. Just something your mom said. And speaking of, did she tell you about what she found?" Jack asked, quickly changing the subject.

"She found something?" Jamie asked. "Like what?"

"What?! You're own mother didn't tell you? Ha! Proof she likes me better!" Jack laughed. Jamie punched his arm and informed him he would receive another painful infliction if he didn't tell him. So, Jack explained Susan's plan. Jamie was over the moon! He was actually excited for this new idea and the two of them were coming up with ideas with what to do with their home. They were plotting new adventures and were wondering what great memories they would make.

At dinner, Susan brought it up again. Sophie squealed and leapt from her seat to hug her mother and thank her over and over and over. She knocked over a cup in her excitement that Jack and Jamie were trying to mop up and she promptly ignored indignate cries.

"But, wait." Jamie held up a finger. "We need to get Jack a job. How is he going to work without… well… anything?"

"He can work under the table… We'd have to look around. Maybe find some people who need regular babysitters or nannies. Or a small restaurant. We'll find something. Some place that won't ask too many questions."

"Good luck with that." Jamie puffed. "But it's okay if he can't find a job for a while. Soph and I can take care of things."

Jack poked at his food. He didn't like that idea. Not one bit. He hated this as it was. He wasn't able to buy his own clothes or food. He would really feel awful if Jamie and Sophie were supporting him. He needed to find something. There had to be somewhere that would hire him. Right?

After dinner, Jack sat on Sophie's bed and watched her paint. It was probably one of his favorite activities. She always had this dreamy look on her face. That is, until she sat down to paint. She would take on this intense focus that hardened her soft eyes and usually caused her lip to bleed. Sophie had a habit of biting her lower lip while she worked.

And hers were was nothing short of amazing. Jack wondered why she was even going to art school. He didn't think she could get any better. If she did, she'd probably reach god-hood. But she was her own worst critic, so she felt the need to improve and get some formal training.

Besides, it wasn't even really for her art. It was for teaching. She wanted to be an art teacher.

Jack had never thought about "what he wanted to be when he grew up." He never needed to. He didn't even know where to start. There were some pretty cool jobs that he wished he could try. Like an astronaut or an actor or a spy. Being a mad scientist also always seemed fun. Or a wizard! After he had met one in Santoff Clausen, he always wanted to learn more magic. Maybe Jack should become and art thief. Yeah! He could sneak into museums and steal works of art to decorate their probably small apartment. Jack could even steal back some of Sophie's art!

He snickered at the thought, storing the idea away for when Sophie was less distracted.

He watched her profile, her bright green eyes squinting a bit as she added a fine detail. She was pretty pale, even for it being summer. Even for being outside at least twice a week. Then again, Jack was the one that dragged her outside. Not that she minded, but Sophie inherently kept to herself. She let a few people in and Jack was honored to be one of them.

Sophie had some issues. When she was a toddler, she was quite daring and fearless. She kept her curiosity throughout the years, but something happened when she was younger to take away her boldness. The loose plank wasn't always loose. It had been when Jamie was old enough to leave the yard, but one time when Jamie left through the fence to meet his friends at the pond, Sophie followed him. There was a street just beyond the fence and… Six year old Sophie was very lucky her brother had been able to get her out of the way in time. Jamie tackled her, the car swerved, the fall caused Sophie to break her left arm. After that, their mother fixed the fence. It became loose again when Jamie was eighteen and figured Sophie was old enough to know better.

That was the event that instantly snatched away her bravery.

But gave Jamie enough for the both of them.

The girl became scared of  _everything_. She was scared of heights, of flying, of large animals, of  _people_. Sophie became terrified of other humans. It was almost debilitating in high school. But Jamie and Jack encouraged her to try and talk to people.

But she had never been scared of the Guardians. She had never been scared of her brother. And she was  _never_  scared of Jack. Except when he tried to take her flying with him. And she was terrified of the roof when they went to watch Dreamsand. But she got over it.

Sophie had gotten  _much_  better then she used to be. Once she learned she was actually okay when it came to interacting with children and those younger then her, she opened up. Sophie volunteered at a hospital at least once a week, visiting the children's ward. She was happy to babysit. She was so happy when it came to working with children.

Which is why she wanted to be a teacher.

A creative girl with high anxiety and an addiction to the feel of canvas. At least, that's how she described herself. Jack didn't think it was as bad as she made it sound. She was cute. She was funny. And she might not ever realize it, but she was clever.

"Sophie?"

"Hm?" she didn't turn away from the canvas. She brushed blonde hair behind her ear, streaking green across her cheek. She had stopped caring about getting paint all over herself or on her clothes. There was no stopping it. When Jack kissed her, there was many times he'd pull away with acrylic on his lips.

"Your um… your mom thinks there's something going on between us."

Sophie stopped. She  _stopped_. She never stopped painting unless someone pulled her away from the work or she passed out at the easel or she completed her piece. She turned to him and set the brush down.

Uh-oh.

"Do  _you_  think there's something going on between us?" she asked gently.

Uhhhhh…. "It kind of… maybe… I felt like I was caught." he admitted, rocking back and clutching his crossed calves.

She giggled and crossed over to sit on the bed across from him. "Caught? Doing what?"

"I don't know… I mean, we weren't keeping any secrets, were we?"

"Weeeeell," Sophie averted her gaze, pink dusting her cheeks. "We were… kind of… doing something without telling anyone."

Jack flushed brightly. "The kissing?"

"And cuddling."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Jack didn't really try and keep it secret. He just never brought up the topic. And just did it when it felt natural or it felt like the right time. And didn't think Jamie would like to know what he and Sophie did. Or rather… what he did to Sophie. He was usually the one that initiated the kisses. She had yet to be the one to kiss  _him_.

"You know that it's usually… couples and stuff that kiss, right, Jack?" Sophie asked, putting her hand on his.

Jack nodded. "Yeah, I know." He sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead with his free hand. "I just… Sophie, you're… I don't know… I can't put it into words. Whenever I try, I feel stupid. I really just… I really care about you and…"

"Shh, it's okay." she leaned forward and nuzzled against his forehead. "You're confused. It's alright."

"Sophie," Jack met her gaze. "People do that kind of stuff when they're in love, right?"

"Yeah," Sophie smiled.

"Does that mean we're in love?"

He felt her stiffen. Her entire face turned red and she pulled back. Was that the wrong thing to ask? Oh, crap.

"I… I don't know, Jack." she stammered. "I can't say anything for you."

"… I'm sorry." Jack pulled away from her and got to his feet. He suddenly felt like everything he was doing was wrong and unfair to this wonderful, beautiful girl. "I shouldn't have… you just never… I…"

She never stopped him. She never sat down and explained this foreign feeling to him and he never asked her to. He just assumed it was okay. He was such a jerk! Jack disliked this greatly. He was always so sure about everything. If he didn't know the rules, he'd make up his own. He'd break them anyways. But this… his mind was reeling and he had no idea what to think. Why did Sophie make him feel so… _confused_? But so  _right_  at the same time?

"Jack," she grabbed his hand. It was hot and he was sweating. It was a strange sensation for both of them, neither being used to Jack's heat and Jack could never recall sweating before the past month. It was even stranger when it wasn't even hot in the room. In fact, it was quite cool. Then why was he so hot? "It's okay. Let's talk."


	7. Chapter 7

Sophie studied the fidgeting boy beside her. His face was red with nerves or embarrassment and there was a hint of something else she couldn't quite pinpoint. She rubbed soothing circles into the skin between his thumb and forefinger.

"Jack… tell me what you know about love." she requested softly. His hand squeezed her own. Did he even know anything about it? To Sophie, Jack seemed like a big kid. Childish in several ways. But still held this strong certainty about him and a terrifying trickster twinkle in his eye. She assumed he had a child's perception of love. The way his kisses were only chaste and shy. Rarely were they bold and confident. She didn't even think Jack understood or felt lust or desire. Which, honestly, she was perfectly fine with thank you very much. She was in  _no_  hurry to move beyond their rather innocent interactions.

His golden brown eyes peered to her shyly and uncertainly. "I… I don't know. I don't know what it really is. I've seen so many different kinds of love or what people called love. What people think is love here is different in another country.

"I know your family loves each other. But not romantically. It's a different kind of love." Jack explained surely. "Familial love is much different. You don't have much of a choice sometimes to love your family. Then again, it depends on circumstance, right? Like, you guys don't love your dad. You can't really because you've never met him, how could you love him? Jamie never talks about him and I don't even want to bring it up with your mom. But you guys are happy and content the way you are."

Sophie swallowed hard and nodded. Her father left when she was barely a year old. She knew Jamie was mad at him. It wasn't like she never wanted to meet the man that helped create her, though. She asked her mom once about meeting him. Unfortunately, the woman could not get in contact with him. She tried and Sophie knew. Sophie was disappointed, but okay with it.

"Then there's the love friends have for each other. I know girls are more acceptable to say 'I love you' to each other then boys are. But I don't understand why that is. I mean, guys will say it to each other every so often. But not as often as girls. That kind of love isn't romantic either. It's pretty similar to familial love, but… there's even different levels of that." Jack explained, frowning. "There are close friends, there are different friends, there are best friends, there are 'bros' and 'sisters.' There are acquaintances. Then, there are friends that are family. That's where we are, right?"

"Right." Sophie nodded. "You were like my second big brother growing up."

"Right. And I wanted to protect you guys like I protected my little sister. You two were different than the other kids." Jack nodded. "I just… I couldn't leave you two alone."

"It took like three winters for you to return regularly, right?" Sophie chuckled. "Jamie told me it just kind of… happened." Sophie was too young to remember herself. As far as she remembered, Jack had been around all the time, no matter the season. He had been there her whole life.

Jack nodded. "Yeah. One day during the Southern Winter, I just sort of thought 'Hey. I miss those kids.' And went for a visit. Since Jamie still believed in me, it was just… easy to keep coming back. His friends all stopped believing but you and him never did. And I guess I also kept coming back because I didn't want you two to ever stop."

"And here we are." Sophie grinned, scooting closer to him. "In all of your confused and lost glory."

"You're the source of most of it." Jack rolled his eyes.

Sophie leaned back in mock offense. "Me?! I'm an open book! I'm not weird at all! How can I confuse you?"

Jack laughed and settled, much more comfortable than when they started this conversation. His hand was still slick with sweat and he clung to her tightly as if she were a lifeline. She gave him an assuring smile and kissed his knuckle. Right. Back to the topic.

"I've seen… so many forms of what people call 'love' I don't think I can for sure know what it is. I've seen marriages. I've seen divorce. I've seen arranged marriages. I've seen men with men and women with women and it was no different than a relationship between a man and a woman. I've seen men beat women they claim they love. I've seen women lie and manipulate men they say they love. I've seen sweethearts and lovers. I've heard people say love doesn't exist. I've heard that it's all around, you just have to look for it. There were people that say that love is sex and money and it was all just so _disgusting_. Movies all have different ideas of love. And yet, it's all the same. Meet, fall in love, get married. I don't know what to think because there's so many different meanings and it makes my head spin and I just  _try_  not to think about it because I never thought it was something I could have." Jack's words were coming out so fast. He ran a hand through his hair, frustration pinched between his eyes. "There's been pure and fragile lovers and corrupt and broken companions. All say the same thing and I was just never able to make sense of it so I didn't try. Because I was invisible.

"And then you starting growing up. You were becoming more… wonderful. And perfect. And beautiful. Yes, you were different and couldn't make friends, but I wanted to be there for you for everything. I wanted to see you happy and smiling because your smile is the most amazing thing I've ever seen. And I don't know what to make of it because it's so much like some interpretations but so different then most. I don't know which one is the right one so… I just…"

Jack sighed heavily and leaned forward into his hand. Sophie felt her face heating up. Is that really how he saw her? Her heart leapt into her throat and fluttered furiously.

"There was this one time. In the twenties. I saw a little boy and girl. They were always playing with each other. Neighbors." Jack chuckled. "They were toddlers. And they were inseparable. I stuck around for a while to watch them. They would hold hands and just play and have fun. They never fought. They never judged. And they told each other they loved each other. It was so pure and innocent. They kissed each other once and turned away, giggling and shy." Jack said softly. "I just wanted  _that_  right there to be what love meant. I wanted that to be the absolute truth."

"That's so cute," Sophie breathed.

"And then… the way you told me about love when I asked before. Remember?" Jack started speaking fast again. "When you said love was selfless and that it just meant you wanted  _them_  to be happy. When you cared so deeply it didn't matter whether or not they shared your feelings, if they were happy, you were. That. That's another truth that I hope so desperately is real. But I have this horrible habit, Soph. I just… I keep pushing these ideas back and I've done so for so long because I didn't want to love and I didn't think I  _could_  so why should I long for it or worry about it, right? Especially if I was stuck in one state while everyone around me changed. And I needed to worry about the children. The kids are the most important thing, you know? Even when those thoughts started coming back because of  _you_  I had to force myself to stop and remember my purpose."

"I'm sorry," Sophie smiled uneasily. "I didn't mean to drag that up."

"No, no!" Jack waved his hand. "It wasn't your fault. Just… it kind of was."

"Yes, that makes me feel so much less guilt." Sophie wipes imaginary sweat from her brow. "Phew! All that weight is finally off my chest."

Jack twisted to face her fully and held both of her hands in his. "I've been human for a month and I still can't let myself think like that. Think I'm allowed to love or that I can actually be loved in return. Because I'm actually  _real_. I'm flesh and blood and I know it's possible but I lay awake sometimes and try and convince myself it's okay. Especially if we were cuddling or I've just kissed you good night. I tell myself maybe I can let myself love her if I knew what love was. And maybe she'll love me, too. But if I love, I want it to be like those kids or like the way you said it was. Because… if love is really about  _hurting_  each other, I don't want that. I don't want any part of it. I don't want to hurt her and I don't want to make her cry and if she's in any sort of pain I'd just hate myself because love is hurting each other and I can't do that. I don't want to do that, Sophie."

Sophie reached up and brushed his hair back. This boy was so confused because he knew  _so much_  and Sophie never imagined he'd actually paid attention. From the way he acted and the way he spoke, she didn't think he would know even half the things he did. But in his years of invisibility, he could do nothing but observe and learn and this may have done much more harm than good.

She never took him for someone who would do that, though. How he seemed to remember every detail of his life, even if some memories were pushed back for others to stand out. How he was actually a reader and so open. He didn't judge, but he was wary. He didn't put his trust into anyone until they earned it. He was actually just as much an emotional wreck as Sophie was, if not more-so.

But he did a much better job of covering it up. He would tease and joke around and play pranks. He always had this smirk which sometimes scared Sophie. Was he just smiling or was he plotting? She wasn't sure. His natural expression was like some kind of joker and he always,  _always_  looked up to no good. No wonder Bunnymund was always cautious around Jack.

It made Sophie forget he had problems, too.

And it was completely unfair. He was always around when she was having problems. He helped calm her down when she had a panic or anxiety attack. He made her smile when she was upset or worried. He never failed to make her fears disappear. Such is the nature of the Guardian of Fun.

But she never really had the chance to return that favor. He never once let on what he was worried about or if he was upset. But things were going to change, Sophie decided. She knew Jack was going to struggle. He was going to struggle a  _lot_. And she was going to help him.

"That's not love, Jack," Sophie assured him. "That's twisting something so beautiful and perfect in order to get something you want. That's bringing pain to keep someone around that makes you feel big because they feel so small under you. That's not love. That's using someone for your own gain."

Jack shrugged and averted his gaze. "It happens a lot, though."

"I know," Sophie nodded. "But that isn't love. You don't hurt anyone you love. You don't hurt your friends, you don't hurt your family, you don't hurt your partner. That's just proof you don't love yourself enough to allow yourself to love anyone else."

"This whole thing just seems so relative." Jack sighed, disheartened.

"Because it is."

Jack groaned and fell backwards into the bed. He stared at the ceiling and grunted, covering his eyes with his free hand. Sophie still held on, refusing to let go. He didn't make to pull away, so she assumed this was okay.

"So… we might not be in love at all." Jack sighed.

"I don't know about  _we_." Sophie whispered. "But… I know I am."

There. Now it was out. She finally admitted out loud what she had kept inside for years. Jack lifted his hand to look at her. Her lips tightened as she shyly met his gaze. What would he think?

"… Have I hurt you?" he asked quietly.

Sophie shook her head with each word. "Mm mm. Not once."

"Is it like what you described?"

"Kind of." Sophie confessed. "There's not pain so much as fear. What if you figured it out and freaked? I've seen girls that figured out boys liked them and just never talked to them again and avoided them because they got weirded out. That's what I was scared would happen. And Jamie. If Jamie found out, I'd never hear the end of it. He'd tell me everything I already knew about how it wasn't possible and how you've got a mind like a child and love is probably the last thing on your mind." Sophie rolled her eyes. "I was just…  _terrified_  you'd eventually leave."

Jack slowly shook his head and clutched her hand. "I'm not going anywhere."

Sophie uncertainly raised her eyebrow. "You're not weirded out?"

Jack shook his head again. "Nope."

She sighed with relief. She felt light, all of her fears suddenly lifted. She wanted to fly with Jack to rid herself of the high that was brought on. She would just have to settle with falling onto her back next to the boy and kicking her legs into the air. It wasn't nearly as effective, but the motion shook some of her jitters.

"I love you, Jack Frost."

Jack reached over and took her other hand with his, pulling her on top of him. She blinked, surprised and peered up at him. He brushed her overgrown bangs from her face and nuzzled her nose with his.

"Hearing that makes me really happy for some reason."

"Love you." she mumbled, locking her big green eyes with his bright golden brown ones.

Jack leaned forward, his lips ghosting over hers. His breath tickled her sore lower lip and she waited for him to press against her. She waited. And waited. And felt rather then saw the smirk playing on his lips. He was teasing her!

"Jerk." she breathed. He chuckled, pulling back slightly.

Oh. She knew what he wanted. Fine. Sophie turned upwards and kissed his nose. He flinched a bit, surprised. Sophie pressed her lips between his eyes. On his forehead. His temple. His cheek. His jaw and his neck. She kissed his chin and hovered above his lips.

Sophie gathered herself and pressed hard against his lips. She held the sides of his face, being the one to initiate the kiss for the first time. She was proud of herself. She felt dizzy and overwhelmed as she always did when Jack kissed her. And his lips were  _warm_. It was so shocking, still unfamiliar with the heat. His arms wrapped around her tightly, cracking her back. She giggled a bit against his mouth and pulled back a bit before leaving butterfly kisses against the corners and fullness of his lips.

When she pulled away, Jack tucked hair behind her ear and took her in, his eyes swallowing her up. His fingers traced the lines of paint streaked across her face and the shape of her lips.

"Wait for me, okay, Soph?"

It took a moment for Sophie to understand what he was talking about. It clicked. He wasn't going anywhere, but neither were his feelings. He was still uncertain and still confused and still overwhelmed. Sophie understood. He was still in a brand new situation and the last thing he should be thinking about was his feeling for Sophie. He had so much more to sort out and Sophie would  _not_  ask him to put her first.

"You're worth waiting for."


	8. Chapter 8

They were going to the beach.

The beach! Jack was really excited. Jack  _loved_  the beach, much to the surprise of the Bennetts. When the subject was brought up, he whooped with joy and jumped on the balls of his feet, asking when they were going to leave.

Sunday, Laura, Jamie's girlfriend, was going to come to the house. Monday, they'd leave for Virginia Beach. The family they were housing with would meet them there.

The family were close friends with the Bennetts. The wife, Amy, was best friends with Susan. Sophie often babysat the children. Amy joked the only reason that they invited them was so Sophie could babysit the kids while Amy and her husband Mike went out at night. Which, in all honesty, Sophie didn't mind. She loved their kids, Nina, Kyle, and Gil.

The family hadn't met Jack or Laura yet. So, Susan invited them for dinner on Sunday, which made Jack slightly nervous. Adults. Man. He was still nervous around them. Most of the time, he still expected them to see right through him.

And Jamie hadn't told Laura about Jack yet.

Laura was a special case. Jack was still in complete shock when it came to her. Jamie started dating her a three years ago. Jack was used to Jamie getting girlfriends. He was an attractive looking boy. He was smart and witty and confident. Laura was Jamie's fourth girlfriend. Jack figured she was another one Jamie wouldn't find to be compatible with, but the boy did  _not_  stop talking about her. Jamie told Jack he loved the girl. That she was different then the other girls he dated.

Of course, that confused the snot out of Jack and he went to Sophie to ask what the heck he was talking about.

A year after they started dating, Jamie introduced Laura to Jack. They were both terrified she wouldn't see him and would think Jamie was crazy. Jamie was so worried she would leave him. Jack saw how very scared the man was and did everything he could to make her believe. Show Jamie wasn't crazy. It was summer. Jamie's room dropped to freezing and ice started to cover  _everything_. It began to snow in the room and that was it.

She looked  _right_  at him.

And screamed.

It roused a laugh from both boys because they were relieved she could see him and because she was  _freaking out_. Sophie came to see what the trouble was and was kind enough to calm Laura down, although she barely knew the girl and usually when someone was panicking, she would join them.

Jack wondered if she would flip again. He looked forward to it.

Sunday afternoon, Laura arrived, toting a suitcase for the week. She was pretty. She had long, curly brown hair and hazel eyes. A heart-shaped face that was dotted with freckles. She had tanned naturally during the summer months.

Jack hung at the top of the staircase when the doorbell rang with Sophie. He bit his lip in jittery excitement. They kept out of sight, but stayed where they could see the door.

Susan and Jamie welcomed the woman. Jamie kissed her and held her and griped about how much he missed her. He had seen her a few times during the summer, mostly chatting via webcam. She lived much farther from the school they attended than he did. She had also graduated already. They were used to separation, but they did everything they could to stay together and so far, they were doing marvelously.

After warm greeting and settling down, Jamie came to the edge of the stepped to call them down. He raised his eyebrow when she saw the two of them smirking at the top.

"… You little shits."

Jack's smirk only widened and the two stood up. Jamie turned back to the couch living room and Jack and Sophie bounded down the stairs. Laura stood up when Sophie came into view and Sophie ran into a hug.

"Laura!" Sophie cried. Sophie was terrified of Laura when they first met. But the girls actually bonded really well. Laura was a digital artist. Laura built websites and worked with Flash and AfterEffects. She had a job programing for Adobe and built company websites as a side job. Laura helped warm Sophie up to her by taking her to museums and art exhibits. They had become pretty close friends.

"Sophie! How are you?"

"Excited!"

"Me, too." Laura pulled away and put a hand on Sophie's shoulder. She glanced to Jack then turned back to Sophie with a kind smile. "Oh, is your friend coming with us?"

"Yeah." Sophie turned to Jack who cocked an eyebrow and flashed his all too familiar sideways smirk.

"I'm Laura, Jamie's… girl… friend…" Laura's smile dropped when she met Jack's eyes. He shoved his hands into his pockets and straightened himself.

"We've already met, Laura. Geeze. I don't see you for three months and you forget about me?" Jack snickered.

There was a  _thwack_  and Jamie cried out. The attention turned to Susan and Jamie who was rubbing his head and glaring at his mother. "You didn't tell her?!"

Laura pointed from Jack to Susan and stammered. "W-Wait… wh-what's going on? You… you can see him?" She looked to Jack. "What  _happened_  to you?" She looked to Jamie. "You didn't tell me  _what_?"

Jack shrugged and stepped up to her, the playful smirk growing wider. He reached up and touched her nose. "You'll be happy to know I can't freeze your coffee anymore."

She covered her mouth as she gasped. "You… You're…" Susan hushed her and sat her down on the couch. Jack cracked, unable to stop a peel of laughter. Susan shot him a mindful glare and explained to Laura what happened to Jack. Which only further surprised Laura. Susan was kept out of the loop because her children were certain she'd never believe. And while she didn't while he was Jack Frost, she got it when he became Jackson Overland Frost.

And Jack was under a microscope again. Laura could not stop staring at him. Until she was reminded her boyfriend didn't bother to tell her this big news. She playfully elbowed him in the gut and didn't talk to him for an hour.

"Laura, I was going to surprise you!"

"Sophie, sell anything at your last exhibit?"

"No. I probably would have if Jamie and Jack hadn't made a scene, though."

"Men." Laura rolled her eyes.

"Totally worthless." Sophie agreed, nodding.

"We're right here, you know." Jack reminded them.

"We know." the girls said in unison.

While Susan, Laura, and Sophie worked on the dinner while Jamie and Jack sat in the living room, smirking at each other. They both knew Laura wasn't really mad. She was playing and they deserved it. But Sophie was just as guilty! It must have been a girl thing.

The Johnson family arrived around four. Susan greeted Amy and Mike while Sophie brought all of the children into a tight squeeze. The children simply  _adored_  her. They had met Jack once while playing in the park. He stayed back with Laura while Jamie was saying his hellos. Then, they were brought forward by Susan and Jamie.

Mike and Amy shook hands and shared smiles and Jack bit back nervous quips that would have given them bad impressions. They were nice, but Jack wasn't used to attention. The hands on his shoulders squeezed encouragingly and he cracked a joke that had the adults laughing.

When the children realized it was Jack that was here, they instantly tackled him to the ground, much to the surprise of their parents. Jack cried out for help only to have Sophie sit between his shoulder blades and ordered the children to tickle him.

The adults backed up, away from the fray. Jack laughed, his ribbed hurting and he was unable to breathe. Jack managed to twist under Sophie and held her down. While Jack, Sophie and the kids played, the parents, Jamie, and Laura moved into the dinning room to talk.

During dinner, Jack squeezed between Sophie and Nina. The table was crowded and loud with excited chatter about the coming week. There were plans for castle building and surfing and wake boarding. The adults were planning night trips. Sophie and Jack would be in charge of the children while the adults went to a few local bars to drink.

The idea of Jamie drinking still perplexed Jack. He remembered the kid when he was eight. Now, at twenty-five and legal, there had been more than a few instances where Jack went to visit Jamie and found him drunk or hung-over.

"So, Jack," Mike address the boy, leaning around his daughter to catch his gaze. Jack swallowed his food to show the man he had his full attention. "Canada, eh?"

Jack grinned and chuckled. "Montréal." Jack nodded.

"Remind me again how you winded up here in our sleepy little town. Suzy told me but it's slipped my mind."

Jack retold his backstory to himself before turning back to Mike. They decided to use the the immigration backstory with this family. "I met Jamie and Sophie when they went to Niagara Falls a few years ago. Well, ten-ish years ago. My family was in the hotel room next to theirs. We played in the pool together and became fast friends. Stayed friends ever since. I've been kind of on my own since I was fifteen. My family life has always been… strained at best. I haven't talked to them in three years. They haven't been looking for me." Jack shrugged. "I tried to go back, but they moved and I have no idea where they are. Jamie offered a place when he found out I had no where to go."

Jack was careful to take on the right expressions at the right time. Take the right tones and pretend to be angry. He was pretty proud of his rouse.

"How did you get in the country?" Nina asked. Nina was a ten year old with a quick mind and a sharp tongue. "Don't you need a passport or something?"

Jack pressed his finger against his lips. "Shh. I'm not supposed to be here." he whispered loudly. Then he took on his usual tone. "But hopefully in six months to a year, I'll be well on my way to citizenship."

"Were you homeless?" Nina asked.

"Nina, shush. You don't ask people if they were homeless." Mike scolded.

Jack chuckled. "No, no. It's okay. Yes, Nina. I was homeless for a while."

"Then why are your teeth so pretty?" she quirked her head skeptically. "Hobos don't have good teeth."

Jack couldn't help but bark out a laugh. Mike sighed and apologized for his daughter, but Jack was too busy snickering to mind any. He was horribly reminded of Toothiana and had to push away from the table to calm himself. Sophie was giggling herself, but not nearly as much as Jack.

When Jack caught his breath, he explained to Nina. "Growing up, I really liked the Tooth Fairy. I took really good care of my teeth just for her. I hoped if I gave her really good and pretty teeth, she'd give me something nice when I lost them. I made sure to brush and floss every day. And I was right. While I didn't have much growing up, I gave the Tooth Fairy really nice teeth and she gave me a dollar coin instead of the usual quarter."

Nina's eyes widened. "Really?"

Jack nodded. "Yep. So, even though I don't have any baby teeth to give to the Tooth Fairy, I still take really good care of them. Maybe when I get old and start losing them again, she'll come back and leave me more dollar coins."

Nina laughed. "She doesn't come to old people!"

"Maybe if I believe hard enough she will!" Jack protested. "I'll believe and give her really pretty teeth. She likes my teeth, you know! 'Cause they sparkle like freshly fallen snow, see?" He pulled his lips back to show Nina who giggled.

Mike laughed. "You're a character, Jack."

Was that a compliment? "Thanks?"

They retired to the living room to eat dessert and drink coffee. Sophie made herself, Jack, and the kids iced hot chocolate. A favorite treat of Jack's. Sophie made it from scratch and was the absolute best at it. They ate pie and ice cream.

Jack and Sophie sat back to back on the floor, the children eating at the coffee table. Jack watched them and leaned his head back so his neck curved over Sophie's head. "I think this week is gonna be awesome."

"You won't melt when we go, I hope." Sophie chuckled.

"Hey! The heat never made me melt!" Jack cried indignantly. "I love the beach! I used to freeze waves, you know."

"What?" Sophie made a sound of disbelief. "No you didn't."

"I did." Jack insisted.

"That's not possible, even for you."

"You believe I went to a town built in the crater of a fallen star that has magic, but you don't believe I can freeze waves."

"Well, not anymore at least."

"… You're mean."

Sophie grinned at him cheekily and giggled. "Looooove youuuuuuu"

"Lies."

"What can't Jack do anymore?" Gil, the youngest boy, asked as he scooted closer. Gil was six and so full of curiosity. And he was so quick to believe. Gil was actually one of the children that believed in Jack Frost. His siblings did not. Gil had never met Jack while he had power, but Jack which he had. This kid was fun and creative. Be was the best pretend-player he ever met.

Jack decided it was best not to ruin the magic for him. He didn't tell him he was  _actually_  Jack Frost.

"Sophie's a witch. She stole my strength! I can pick you guys up anymore. No more superhero games. No more airplane. It's so tragic." Jack slumped back against Sophie in pretend desperation.

"Sophie! Give it back!"

Sophie cackled wickedly. "Muahahaha! Never!"

Jack made sure his plate and cup were set aside and out of the way before trying to feebly crawl away from her. "Gil. Help me." he reached for the kid. Gil grabbed his arm with both of his and helped Jack pull away from Sophie who had grabbed his leg.

As Gil and Jack escaped Sophie's grasp, Jack stopped and looked up at Jack who stood above him with a raised eyebrow. "Sophie stole my strength. The sorceress!"

Jamie shook his head, amused. "Gil, you're leaving."

Gil groaned. Jack clutched the boy, gasping. "Jamie's corrupt, too, Gil! We gotta run!"

Jamie lifted the boy out of Jack's grasp. "I'm kidnapping him and you can't do anything about it! My evil sister has stolen your strength! But tomorrow, you'll have a chance to save him. If you fail, you'll be banished to the beach house foreverrrrrrrrrr."

"I'll save you, Gil!" Jack reached for the boy as Jamie carried him towards the door with his family. "I promise!"

When the Johnsons left, Jack was still laying on the floor and Sophie was collecting their dishes. Jamie and Laura looked to Jack. Jack knew he was ridiculous, but he was having fun so they shouldn't judge him. Jerks.

"Sophie says she doesn't believe I can freeze waves."

Jamie and Laura looked to each other with raised eyebrows before looking back to him. "Well," Jamie started. "Not anymore anyway."

"… Why are you guys so mean?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you're enjoying this story! I know I'm having a lot of fun writing it! (Two chapters in one day wat)
> 
> Some of the stuff that goes on in this story is part of headcanons I made from previous fanfictions. Like Jamie's girlfriend being called Laura. That's one of them. If I forget to elaborate on something that sounds like a headcanon or an important part of a story that needs to be expanded on, let me know! 'Cause while I'm trying to explain them the best I can, I may tend to skip it over. Oops.
> 
> I'd appreciate some feedback! Things you like, things you don't like. Things that could be worked on. Writing style, grammer, story. Also, if anyone would like to see something in this story, just write a review and I may add it! I've got another 80 years to fill. While I have a TON of ideas, I'm probably going to end up skipping a few decades. xD


	9. Chapter 9

That night, Jack slept on the couch. He didn't mind. Jamie wanted to spend some time with Laura since he hadn't seen her in so long and Sophie joined him in the living room. Before Jamie went upstairs, he ordered them to go to bed at a reasonable hour. Sophie, no, two is not reasonable. They had to get up early.

He was fidgeting though. Probably for the stupidest reason ever, but he was anxious. He was going to part from an object he'd been attached to for three hundred and seventeen years for a week. While he had no troubles leaving it in the house while he went out with Susan, Jamie, or Sophie and most of the time it was just leaning against the wall in Jamie's room, he sometimes liked to keep it in arm's reach.

It was a habit. Like smoking, only it didn't cause you cancer. It was just an object he needed to relax his nerves or feel in control. When he learned he couldn't take it with him, he understood but panicked internally. He had snatched it out of Jamie's room before the couple went upstairs and it was propped up on the living room wall.

He was talking with Sophie, who seemed to understand when he was nervous. And really, after the transformation, it happened a lot. This whole thing felt unnatural and weighted and Jack could not get used to it. It had only been a month, Jamie and Sophie assured him. He would get used to it. What he was feeling was normal. Humans feel that all the time. Humans get like that.

They sat up talking and messing around, trying to stay quiet as to not wake those slumbering upstairs. They had lost track of time and found themselves pressed close, Jack's arms wrapped around Sophie's waist and her back pressed against his chest, as they slowly fell into sleep. There was an inkling of light outside when the two of them finally made it, going against Jamie's warning.

They were awakened by a very bewildered Laura. Both groggy and both not quite noticing her confused expression. They realized they had maybe three or four hours of sleep, but Sophie said it would be good for the ride.

Jack had riden in a car. Not for long, thirty minutes at the most. But it made him dizzy and jittery. As Jack Frost, he hadn't ridden inside a car very often. Just to see what it was like on the inside, what it was like to ride in it, once he tried to drive one. He preferred to surf on top.

But the ride would be up to two hours long. Sophie hated long car rides and Jack would have no idea how he would be able to sit through it. Jack had a feeling Sophie kept them up for the sole purpose of letting them be able to sleep for the ride.

Breakfast, coffee, milk, and tea were had. They piled into the van. Susan and Jamie up front, Laura in the middle row, Jack and Sophie in the way back. They made a nest of blankets and pillows and Jack was way too tired to even suggest building a fort. They started the trip and Jack and Sophie leaned against each other, falling asleep fairly quickly.

Jack was jolted awake at every sudden stop and every speed bump. Nope. He didn't like cars. Not one bit, he decided. Halfway through the trip, Jack slipped off of the bench seat and made himself comfortable between the two seats in the middle row. Laying on the floor made a WORLD of a difference. He was able to stare up at the ceiling and make faces at Laura and Jamie who had moved back beside her.

Sophie had the whole back seat to herself.

When they finally got to the beach house, Jack flopped himself onto the asphalt and hugged the ground. He did not like the car. No, he did not. They got held up by traffic and he was trapped for a whole extra hour. Sophie pulled him up and Jack felt heavier than ever as he helped drag luggage and groceries into the beach house. They got there before the Johnsons. They were caught up in the same traffic jam that stopped the Bennetts.

So they made sure the the house was ready for the other family that arrived just an hour later then them. Jack instantly felt much better once the kids arrived. His head had been pounding and he wasn't fond of the pain his muscles were in. But they made him light up and he carried Kyle on his back and swing Gil by his arms and chased Nina, forgetting the discomfort the car ride have inflicted.

Once they settled, unpacked and changed, Jack, Sophie, and the three kids ran out the back door towards the water, whooping with excitement.

The adults were setting up a spot when Jamie and Laura joined them in the waters.

The cool salt water felt  _so nice_  against his hot skin and though the swim trunks weighed him down and the heavy waves nearly suffocated him, he relished the feel of the water against body. Jack and Sophie swam in deep enough that Sophie needed to stand on her toes and before the waves formed so the water was mostly smooth.

Something wet hit the back of Jack's head. Mike, Jamie, and Laura were wading up to them, Mike smirking. What was he just hit with? He picked up a Nerf football. Oh. Jack, with all his perfect aim, threw it right at Jamie's face.

"Good throw, kid!" Mike whistled.

"That was nothing!" Jack laughed. "You should see me throw a snowball."

In the deeper water, Sophie toed for seashells and screamed every time seaweed brushed against her leg. She  _hated_ fish. She thought the slime might be scales and would cling to the closest person to her. Jamie, Jack and Mike rough housed, trying to drown each other. They tossed the football while Laura helped Sophie.

Back at the shore, they built sandcastles with the kids. Sophie was getting frustrated because she couldn't sculpt it like she could sculpt clay. Laura had to remind her that as an artist it was okay to not be great in every field. Jack and Jamie were both quiet amused at her clear resentment at the medium she was trying to master.

The children buried her in the sand to give her time to "cool off." When she rose, she pretended to be a giant and chased the children. They cried for Jamie to save them with which Jamie flipped his sister into the sand expertly.

She groaned. "Jaaaaaamieeeeee," Sophie rubbed her backside. "Did you  _have_  to do that?"

"I had to save them from you."

"Not using Tae Kwon Do."

"Yes using Tae Kwon Do. You could have easily blocked that if you took it with me."

"It's true," Jack raised an eyebrow at Jamie. "That could have been easily prevented."

"Not you, too, Jack." Sophie stood up. She turned to the adults, "MIKE WHY'D YOU TEACH MY BROTHER HOW TO BEAT HIS SISTER UP?!"

"YOUR MOTHER PAID ME TO!" Mike shouted back.

Jamie noticed Jack's confused expression and explained that Mike was his Tae Kwon Do Master. It was actually how Mike met Amy. One day, Susan and Amy went shopping while Jamie was at practice and Sophie was at a friend's house. When they went to pick up Jamie, Mike and Amy just clicked.

"Good to see your form hasn't weakened, Jamie." Mike got up to join them.

"There's a club at my school. If I want to keep up with this guy, I got to stay in my top form." Jamie jabbed a thumb at Jack.

Mike raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You take T.K.D.?"

Jack folded his arms behind his head. "I'm only a master in ten different Martial Art forms. Tae Kwon Do, Karate, Kung Fu, Jujitsu, Judo, Nhat Nam, bare-knuckle boxing, Bojuka, Jeet Kun Do, and Kenpo." Jack ticked each off easily, rousing a barking laugh from Mike. Clearly the man didn't believe him. "Want to spar?" Jack bounced between his feet, smirking.

Mike folded his arms. "Are you sure you want to offer that challenge?"

"Yeah, don't go easy on me." Jack nodded, insisting.

Jamie looked to his master. "Sir, I have to say my money's on Jack."

Mike shook his head, laughing. "You kids are funny."

Jack hopped into a stance and bounced back and forth, jabbing at the man. "Scared? Huh? Huh? I'll kick your butt."

"Sure you would, Toothpick."

"Hey!"

Mike put a hand on Jack's spiky head and ruffled his hair. "Good to know there's someone who appreciates the art of the fist and foot. Come by the dojang sometime. We'll see what you got."

Jack realized he was actually having  _fun_  with this adult. When did it start? In the water? At the mention that he was Jamie's Tae Kwon Do master? Jack wasn't sure, but he found himself getting comfortable with him. He hoped he would quickly become as comfortable around Amy. But if she was anything like Susan, he didn't suppose there would be any problems.

He supposed be became comfortable with Susan after she knew the truth. She always asked him about his previous life, full of interest and curiosity. She had made him comfortable and the way she treated him so kindly was horribly familiar. He wished he could really understand what it meant, but he only assumed it was the way all mothers treat children and assumed Susan may have been similar to his mother in some way or other.

They had lunch on the beach and spent most of the day on the beach. Around four, they cleaned up and went out for dinner. At dinner, the children got coloring sheets and crayons. Jack and Jamie asked for extra papers and they got a stack, only after annoying the server. Everyone was coloring except for Sophie. She was playing with the crossword on the sheets, but Jack could see she was resisting.

"You aren't coloring?" he asked her in a low voice.

She shook her head. "Nope."

"Why not?" Jack waved a crayon in front of her eyes. "You know you want toooooo."

"Ugh." Sophie dropped her head onto the table. "Can't. Do. It."

"Why not?" Jack laid his head next to her on the table. It seemed this was normal Sophie behavior. The only one that thought it was funny was Gil and his mother was instructing him to stop laughing and finish this tic tac toe game they started.

"'Cause," she mumbled. "You can't soothe your habit, so I'm not gonna soothe mine." Jack's eyes widened in shock. Her cheeks were red and she peered at him through her lashes. Sophie wasn't going to draw or color? "I'm not gonna art all week. Not even doodle."

"You don't have to do that, Sophie," Jack said.

"I want to. You've been on edge since we left. After we tried building sandcastles, I really noticed it. You were making grabby hands." She reached over and flexed her fingers in front of his face. "So, I decided you shouldn't go at it alone."

Jack smiled. She really didn't have to, but for him, she was going to give it up. He felt touched. He really,  _really_  wanted to kiss her, but at the same time did NOT want to raise questions. Peering around the table, he made sure the others were preoccupied.

Amy and Susan were tending to Gil and Kyle. Laura was playing one of the coloring games with Nina. Jamie and Mike were in a debate about something or other.

Jack pressed his finger to his lips before touching hers. Under his digit, Sophie beamed.

Then bit down on it  _hard_.

"OUCH!"

They both shot up, Sophie laughing and Jack dipping his hot finger into his ice water. It seemed Gil had caught her biting Jack and the boy leaned across the table to bite her. She yelped and chomped back playfully.

That night, there was a lot of fighting for rooms and who was sharing with who because  _everyone_  shared a room. Susan had claimed the living room, saying she was perfectly fine with the couch and would rather not share with her bratty children. Amy and Mike had the master bedroom.

In the end, it really came down to the other three rooms. After much insistance, there would be no girls rooms and boys rooms. The Johnson children would sleep in the room with the bunk-bed and single bed. When it came down to who would share what room between Jamie, Laura, and Sophie. Laura and Jack did NOT care whom they shared with. They sat with the rather awkward siblings, eying each other and shrugging.

Jack was fine sharing with either Jamie or Sophie. Laura was fine sharing with either Jamie or Sophie. And they both knew Jamie really wanted to share a room with Laura. But at the same time, was really uncertain about Jack sharing with Sophie.

So, the two stayed out of it. When asked for input they both reply with a strong chorus of "No." and Jamie and Sophie went back to their discussion.

In the end, Jamie grabbed his and Laura's bags and went into their room. Laura sighed heavily and rolled her eyes at Jack before following her boyfriend.

In the room Jack and Sophie shared, Sophie dropped her bags in disbelief and threw her arms open.

"What was he even freaking out about?!" She cried out, exasperated. "There's two beds!"


	10. Chapter 10

The second day, the families rented surf boards. This excited Jack more then he could ever say. He ran into the water without thinking, Jamie at his tail. Jack never actually used a surfboard before. He usually rode the waves on his feet, freezing them in the process. But Jack forgot in his excitement that he needed to balance. It wasn't as easy as it used to be. Jack fell into the water, almost drowning in the waves more times then he could count. Mike had to teach him how to stand and ride.

The waves were nothing like the ones in Hawaii. Actually, waves in Virginia were really weak. They were small and rarely ever any swells, just ones that broke before they could form anything solid. Jack, Jamie, Mike, and Kyle would sit on their boards and wait for the perfect opportunity.

Still, even with the rather tame waters, Jack found it hard to balance. He cursed his newfound weight and lack of ability to be easily carried by the wind. If he could stand on the waters like he used to, this would be simple. But nope. Humanity cursed him to sink.

When Jack got to the shore, breathless and frustrated he couldn't really surf (not with these waters, anyway) Sophie watched him curiously. When he questioned what the look was for she asked him, "You're not scared of drowning?"

It wasn't a dumb question. In fact, it was a pretty good one, considering  _how_  he became Jack Frost in the first place. He drowned in the very pond they would go ice skating on every winter. The one seen from their back yard.

No. Jack wasn't afraid of water or drowning. He really actually enjoyed the feeling of adrenaline. Something he really hadn't felt in a while. The fear that he might not resurface. It send his heart pounding and his muscles felt stronger and he could do anything. Though, after having to be pulled out of the water several times, he was left exhausted.

He wasn't afraid of death. He was afraid he wouldn't have lived the life given him to it's fullest. He had so much more he wanted to do. So much he wanted to experience. And although it had been fun, a month was not enough time to do what he wanted. No, he was terrified of dying too soon.

He didn't want to take this gift for granted.

Sophie was amazed. Jack wasn't scared of anything. She voiced how she wished she was more like him. She was too scared to get on a surfboard. She knew she didn't have any balance and she was scared she would get trapped under a wave while attached to the board. The board might pull her or she might break her leg or something.

"Take risks." Jack suggested.

If she broke her leg, it would be a fun story to tell about.

So, Jack was able to do what Jamie and Mike had been trying to do for years: get Sophie out on a surfboard. She hadn't been afraid of boogie-boarding or wake-boarding. But surfing terrified her.

Mike and Jamie helped Sophie and Laura ride. They were both just as bad as Jack. Actually, Jack was sure he was worse. He was still getting used to the whole walking thing, how could he possibly expect to stand up on a surfboard?

The third day was spent on the boardwalk. Jack tried to walk barefoot. He really did. He  _hated_  shoes. But the wood was actually quite hot and burned his feet. Concrete was cooler than the boardwalk wood. And the stores wouldn't allow him inside without at least flip-flops.

So, he was forced to concede and wear the pair of flip-flops Jamie gave him. He complained to Sophie a lot. He was sure he was starting to annoy her, even if she didn't admit it. Amy was curious about his dislike of shoes. She did notice how he  _never_  wore them, aside from the time they went out to eat.

Jack wished he could explain it. But he liked being barefoot. He liked to feel the texture under his feet. He felt free without shoes. That much he explained to her. But three hundred years without shoes? Ugh. No. There was no way he'd be able to wear them comfortably.

As they walked and explored the boardwalk, Jack thumbed the money in his pocket. It was weird, having any sort of currency and actually being able to use it. Jamie, Sophie, and Susan pooled together some money Jack could use to get some souvenirs.

Throughout all of the shops they went to, there wasn't anything he wanted. Nothing he could see himself keeping through the future. Yes, there were corny trinkets with "VA Beach" printed on them and "Virginia is for lovers" or some other dumb saying. It was all so superficial, nothing that would really help him remember this moment in time.

So, he bought the kids ice cream. Well, he bought them only the best treat you could ever have on the beach. Polish Ice Water. Jack  _loved_  Polish Ice Water. It was better than Italian Ice and not as sugary-sweet as a snow cone. He was glad this establishment had spread this far.

Then… they passed a photobooth. Yes, yes! This was perfect! Jack grabbed Jamie and Sophie and pulled them inside the booth. Jack fed money into it three times. The first was just pictures with Jamie and Sophie. Then Laura and Susan were added. Lastly, Jack insisted they all tried to squeeze in. They somehow made it with Amy on Mike's lap, Jamie and Sophie on Susan's, Jack standing behind Laura and the children standing in front of them. They somehow managed to get everyone in the shot.

Everyone fell out of the photobooth, relieved but laughing. Jack could not stop grinning as he looked at the pictures. This was all he needed. Even if nothing else lasted, these and his memories would.

Jamie promised Mike and Amy he'd make copies of the film strips and email them. He was sure they'd love to have them and they nodded, grateful for the offer. How many times were two families pulled into a cramped photobooth and still managed to get  _everyone_  in the picture? Even if not every picture was flattering, they all had a lot of fun.

As they were walking back to the beach house, Jack walked with Sophie and the children. Gil was on his back and Nina on his arm. Kyle was clinging to Sophie. Jack watched Jamie and Laura as they smiled and laughed with each other. Jamie linked his fingers with hers and kissed her forehead before joining in the conversation Mike brought his attention to.

The hands, though… He reached and took Sophie's hand into his own, mimicking Jamie and Laura. She squeezed his hand as they fingers intertwined and their gaze met. She beamed and he smirked. Then Gil's grip tightened as he pointed to the beach. That sand sculpture! Look how cool!

Sophie made a noise, saying she could totally do better. But she couldn't. She couldn't sculpt sand and Jack just  _loved_ how that bothered her. He poked fun at how she could work with any medium but sand. He wondered if she could use rice. Or grain. Oh! How could would it be if she could try and make something with pink sand? Oops. She couldn't even try. Because she couldn't use it.

The result was a hard bite at the back of his hand. He yelped out in pain, but didn't release her.

Why did she keep biting him?!

That night for dinner, the men were going to have a guys night. Mike begged to swap Gil and Kyle for Susan who only laughed and left with the women for a girls night. Mike took them to a sports bar, which, really, none of them were interested in. But over the years, Mike discovered they had the best wings  _ever_  and since he was paying they were eating there.

Once they sat down, Jack slipped off his flip flops and crossed his legs on the chair. Finally. He could get away without shoes. Gil sat beside him and copied him, wiggling in his seat.

Jack was looking over the menu. He wasn't sure what to get. He hadn't eaten half of these foods but he was sure he'd like anything given to him. He folded his menu and told Jamie to order him whatever.

Jack was tired. He wasn't used to getting tired after exerting himself. It wasn't fair! There was so much he still wanted to do, but his stomach ached with hunger and his muscles were heavy with exhaustion.

Kyle tugged on Jack's arm and pointed to a television that was playing a commercial. It was something about the Caribbean.

"We're going there next month!" Kyle told him excitedly.

Jack squinted and strained to hear where exactly it was. Atlantis Resort? Oh. Jack had been there a few times. He grinned.

"You're going to really like it!" Jack told him as the server brought their drinks. "They have this wicked cool water slide and the waves there are  _killer_! And the water is clear!"

"You've been there?" Kyle asked, wanted to know more.

"Oh, yeah! It's really amazing! Not as cool as Hawaii, but man, it really is something." Jack went on to explain what else was there and what he could throw a tantrum to see. He picked up his iced tea to take a sip and nearly choked.

"Whoah, gross." Jack blanched. "Jamie, you said the iced tea here was good."

Jamie's expression was neutral. He gave Mike a sideways glance before shrugging. "It's brewed here. Fresh iced tea. It's gonna taste different then the stuff at home, you know."

"Here, taste it." Jack held out his glass.

Jamie took a tentative sip. "It tastes fine, Jack. Sometimes it takes a few sips to get used to. Just keep drinking it, I promise you'll like it."

Jack frowned and grabbed a sugar packet from the condiment holder. Toothiana was gonna kill him for this, but this iced tea seriously needed some sweetening. It almost burned going down, it was so bitter. He didn't want to ruin his teeth, which he really never paid any notice to until Toothiana pointed out how nice they were. Now, he was actually quite proud of them.

But one sugary drink wouldn't do much, right? He'd brush his teeth when he got home and it would be good.

The sugar made it taste better. It was still strange going down. But he paid it no mind and continued talking to Kyle and Gil about what they should do when they went to the resort. He probably wouldn't have touched the drink again if he wasn't so thirsty. And he probably wouldn't have had a second if Jamie hadn't ordered him something salty to eat.

The food was good.  _Really_ good. And he  _really_  liked the style of the place, even if he wasn't that big into sports. He liked the atmosphere and camaraderie that went with sportsmanship. He knew about sports, he knew how to play them, and he liked to play them. But watching them wasn't that much fun.

Why couldn't he stop talking? And how come by his third drink he was feeling dizzy? He stopped adding sugar as the bitterness slowly seemed to not seem so bitter. Why were Jamie and Mike laughing at him?

There had to be something in the tea. But Jamie sipped his own iced tea and seemed just fine. He also shared a pitcher of beer with Mike.

"I've never asked you why you drink, Jamie." Jack asked, pointing to the pitcher. "I mean, you get weird and silly and sometimes throw up. But I don't understand why it's so much fun when you feel like crap the next day? 'Jack, kill me! My head hurts! I'm sick! I should call off. But I'm just hung over. Jack, go steal me fast food. Oh man, my whole body hurts. Jack, why is my hair frozen? What did you do? I'm gonna kill you, Jack.' Which, by the way, I froze your hair because you kept saying you were hot and insisted I did so."

MIke and Jamie were laughing boisterously. Jack didn't find it funny. It was a legitimate question!

"How'd you freeze his hair, Jack?" Gil asked.

"Magic," Jack nodded. "I'm Jack Frost, remember?"

Gil and Kyle snickered but Jamie never answered him!

"Jamie, seriously. What's so fun about it? You're… You're not in control while you drink. But you always look like you're having a good time." Jack ran a hand down his face. "I guess that's the fun part. Remember when you gave me shots of vodka? Yeah. That burned. But it was sooooo funny when you were freaking out that it didn't do anything to me. Probably 'cause I was different then the others, right? North can get drunk. I've seen him. You've seen him. That Christmas party was fun." Oh. Mike was giving him strange looks. "Crap. I said too much, right?" Jack furrowed his brow. "Wish I could explain. Too much. Plus you're an adult. You wouldn't get it. Whoah, I'm dizzy."

Jack laid his head on the table. Everything was spinning. He said too much. How was he going to explain this to Mike?

Why couldn't Jack get drunk that time? he wondered. Well… the other Guardians weren't created like he was. They sort of grew into the part. They never died. They weren't reborn. They still had part of their humanity, so perhaps because Jack was a spirit, the alcohol didn't effect him then? How would he react to it now?

He didn't want to try. Not with how dizzy he was and how he just wanted to lay down and maybe cuddle with Sophie. No, strike that—definitely cuddle with Sophie.

"Jamie, answer meeeeeee."

Jamie was still snickering. "It's time to go home, Jack."

"Whooooooo!" Jack half-heartedly rose his hands in the air.

"Don't forget your shoes." Jamie reminded him.

"Shoes stink." Jack stuck out his tongue to the man.

"Yeah, shoes stink!" Gil mimicked him.

"See? This guy knows what's up." Jack ruffled Gil's hair. He scooped up the coloring sheets and slipped his flip flops on only because Jamie asked him to. Gil still refused to put on his shoes so he threw the boy over his shoulder and stumbled a bit as he carried him out the door. Mike took the boy's shoes and laughed, helping to steady Jack.

"Jamie, have I ever told you I hate gravity? I hate it. I miss flying." Why was he feeling so much heavier? His muscles felt sluggish. He had trouble working his limbs properly. What the heck?

"Yeah, uh-huh Jack." Jamie humored him. "Flying was fun."

"Damn right it was. Oh. Oops. Sorry, guys." Jack put a finger over his lips and looked from Gil to Kyle. "Don't say bad words, guys."

"You can't fly." Kyle scrunched up his face.

"I like to play pretend." Jack said offhandedly.

"I wanna fly!" Gil spread his arms apart. "Just like Sophie said Jack Frost could do! She met him, you know!"

Kyle rolled his eyes. "Jack Frost isn't  _real_  Gil."

Jack felt a stab at his heart and frowned. "He is." Jack nodded. "He's the spirit of winter. He's the guy that gives you all the snow days and starts all those snow fights. If you ever felt really excited or like you're having a lot of fun in the snow, it's probably Jack Frost. He has the power to make  _fun_. The Guardian of Fun!"

"That's right!" Gil pointed to Kyle. "See? Jack knows he's real!"

"Where's your proof?" Kyle crossed his arms.

"I'll tell you what I told Jamie all those years ago…" Jack said, slowing down. Mike and Jamie were careful, watching to make sure he didn't drop Gil. Jack adjusted the boy and secured him on his back. "Do you stop believing in the moon when the sun comes up?" Kyle frowned and shook his head. "And do you stop believing in the sun when the clouds block it out?"

"No…"

"You don't need to see something to know it's there. Like Santa and the Tooth Fairy, right? Have you seen the Easter Bunny or the Sandman? Probably not. But you know they're real. It's not blind faith, right? They give you stuff because you believe in them. Money in exchange for lost baby teeth and memories. Sweet dreams. Gifts and candy. Even if you don't believe in them, they still give you what they think you need. A sense of wonder, hope, dreams, sweet memories, and fun. Everything that makes childhood  _childhood_." Jack frowned.

"… Guess you're right." Kyle mumbled.

Jack put a hand on his head. "Right. Just because you don't believe doesn't mean your brother can't. Not everyone believes in them, you know. Like how nobody believes in Cupid. But he's cool with it. He's so annoying. Always smirking and just complains about how women and sometimes men stop liking who they're supposed to like because they see him and think  _he's_  so wonderful. I guess he's a nice guy, but he can be a such a jerk! Make people like who they're not supposed to aaaaaaand I'm rambling. Don't listen to me. I'm just repeating some of Jamie's stories at this point?" Jack looked to Jamie with a raised eyebrow as if asking for confirmation. That was an excuse. Why wasn't he paying attention to his words?

"Jamie, make me stop talking."

"No, no, it's amusing."

"But—"

"You're so weird, Jack!" Gil laughed, pulled back on Jack who stumbled backwards. He stumbled and Mike caught him, laughing.

Jack looked to Mike. "I'm weird, right? Don't mind the weird Canadian. I don't know what's wrong with me."

Mike clapped a hand on his bicep. "Don't worry, kid. We're almost home."

"We are? I that was a short walk." Jack thought the walk there was  _much_  longer.

A car pulled into the driveway just as they were walking up. The girls piled out of the car and Sophie twirled with Nina. Sophie. Sophie would make him stop talking. It would be okay if it were just the kids and Jamie and Sophie and Susan and Laura, but in front of Mike or Amy? Nope. Bad idea. Very bad.

Jack ran up and into Sophie and she steadied herself and him, giggling.

"Jack, you're all red in the face." she brushed his hair back.

"Sophie, I keep talking about the Guardians. Make me stop, it's a bad idea. Jamie won't stop me. And I can't walk straight and my tongue feels numb and I can't see but I can at the same time and just help."

Sophie stopped and looked from Jamie to Jack and back. The girl slowly set Nina down and removed Gil from Jack's back as the boy groaned in protest. Her hands were on her hips as Laura joined up with her boyfriend.

"Jamie, what did you do to him?" Sophie sighed.

"What?" Jack realized he was slurring. Was it like this the whole time?

Jamie shrugged. "I was curious." he admitted. "I may have given him a little too much."

"Curious?" Jack repeated.

"A little too much?" Sophie rubbed her brow. "What did you give him?"

"Long Island Iced Tea."

Oh. OH. "HEY!" Jack clenched his fist. "You gave me alcohol?!"

Jamie burst into a fit of laughter. He led the boy inside and they sat at the kitchen bar where Jamie explained. Jamie and Mike had a tradition when Jamie was underage. Jamie would order an iced tea while Mike ordered a Long Island Iced Tea or some similar drinks. Once the server had their back turned, they'd switch. Jamie would get the alcohol and Mike would make sure he was okay.

Growing up, Jamie's mother didn't want him to get overwhelmed by anything. So, she would give him some drinks and let him test the waters so he didn't hurt himself. As long as he was under supervision. Jamie wasn't a bad kid, not by any means. He stayed away from drugs and pretty much stuck to alcohol on holidays or vacation.

Sophie had tried some. She wasn't a fan of the feeling, so she stayed away for the most part. Jack had to agree. He leaned on her shoulder, realizing he was tipsy for the first time that he could remember. Jamie reasoned he probably had some mead or beer in his previous life. So it probably wasn't the first time he felt the effects.

But Jack was curious in his life as Jack Frost. He  _had_  tried several drinks, if anything for the flavor. He never had this feeling happen to him before. No matter how much he drank.

"I hate you, Jamie."

"You love me."

"I don't like this." Jack groaned. "Tell the room to stop spinning."

Sophie sighed. "Jamie, what if something happened?" she questioned. "I mean, he's been human for a whole month—"

"And a week and two days." Jack added, not really trying to help or hinder her scolding. Just to remind everyone and himself.

"Right. He's really young and you're already out to destroy his liver."

"He'll be fine, he's eighteen." Jamie waved it off. Laura held up her hands to show she was staying out of this.

"My point is, he's still young." Sophie rolled her eyes, stroking his hair. "He hasn't even grown facial hair yet."

Jamie stopped and stared at his friend. Jack frowned and rubbed his chin. "… Oh. Right. That's weird." Jamie took Jack's chin and inspected it. "I started getting facial hair when I was sixteen. I mean, it wasn't much. But it was still hair."

"Gimme a break." Jack pulled away from Jamie. "I'm three—WHOAH!" He leaned back too far on the stool and crashed onto the floor. Oh man, that hurt. Jamie, Sophie, and Laura helped him up. Laura volunteered to take him to his room since Jamie and Sophie kept bickering. Laura grabbed a bottle of water and ordered Jack to lay down.

As she ran her hand through his hair, looking for a lump or contusion, Jack couldn't help but thing how nice she was. She was smart, too. "I'm glad Jamie met you." Jack admitted sleepily. Oh man, this week was already taking a toll on him. "You're so cool. You just accept everything for what it is. Even though you stopped believing years ago, you brought that belief back. Because Jamie said it was real."

Laura smiled gently at Jack. "That's what it means to trust someone, Jack."

"Right! And you guys are in love, right?" Jack asked. "Or… a kind of love. Whatever  _love_  is. God, the whole thing is annoying. No, not you! Love. 'Love.' LLL…OOO…VVVE. It's even weird to say. Anyway! Back to you and how awesome you are."

Jack yammered on. God, someone shut him up! But Laura was  _so cool_! Sure, she sucked at ice skating. But she was awesome at skiing and helping Sophie build snow sculptures and she was also wicked good at wake boarding!

When Jamie and Sophie came in, Jack greeted them joyously. He  _ordered_  Jamie never to leave this amazing girl who was rolling her eyes at him and why was she rolling her eyes at him stop that.

Jamie was so looking so happy, though. He was grinning like an idiot and he hugged his girlfriend and kissed her cheek and hummed merrily. "I'll never let this one go."

"Good." Jack sighed, content with Jamie's answer and covered his eyes. "Don't make me drink ever again, Jamie. I don't like this."

"I'm not going to promise that."

"I'm a Guardian of Childhood. It's morally wrong for me to drink. And you keep doing it." Jack groaned.

"Still not promising." Jamie snickered. "Now go to sleep."

"Then go away, jerk." Jack sighed.

When Jamie and Laura left, he grabbed Sophie's hand and pulled her onto the single bed with him. She yelped in surprise but didn't protest. He just wanted to cuddle. He really liked to snuggle with this girl. And only this girl. He only ever wanted to cuddle her and no one else.

"I'm not drunk, right?" Jack asked.

"Do you feel sick?"

"No."

"Can you remember everything from the time you started drinking?"

"Yes."

"Then you're fine. Sometimes when you drink, everything blurs together. But I think you're okay." Sophie assured him.

"Did you drink tonight?" Jack asked.

"No," Sophie giggled. "If it'll make you feel better, I can get a glass of wine, though."

"No, no." Jack hugged her tighter. "No more alcohol. Just Sophie."

Sophie asked how his night went. It was a lot of fun! Despite being really confused the whole time. He just kept talking though and wondered what Mike thought of him. Hopefully, just a weird kid with a wild imagination.

He asked about hers. They went to this Medieval Times place and had to eat with their hands as they watched jousting and it was really fun! Jack was jealous! Why didn't the boys do that?! It would have been amazing and Jack wouldn't be so dizzy!

Or warm. He was so warm and Sophie's heat was making him hotter. He didn't care. He liked her smell. He liked the feel of her skin.

"You really do talk a lot when you drink." Sophie snickered.

Crap. Was that out loud?

"Yes."

"… I'm going to sleep. Don't move."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry. I wanted to write a Tipsy!Jack.
> 
> I'mtotallynotsorry


	11. Chapter 11

The next day, Jack woke up feeling dry and his head was… he couldn't say throbbing. But it hurt. His brain felt shriveled up. But he didn't feel like dying. Sophie gave him the water bottle from last night and pain killers. It was his first time taking any sort of medication. He wasn't sure how his body was going to react to it.

Much to his relief, he felt one-hundred percent after breakfast. He helped make log cabins with french toast sticks and watched Sophie trying her best not to reach for the notepad and pen that was just in arms reach. Jack smiled slyly before pushing it slightly towards her with his fingertips. She put up with him last night, she deserved this.

Sophie's lips tightened and she picked up the pen and scribbled into it, pressing hard down on the pen. When she was satisfied with her hard scribbles she pushed it back towards him and folded her arms.

"It's beautiful, Soph." Jack smirked.

"Ass."

"Someone's getting testy." Jack looked ominously over the kids.

"You said a bad word!" Kyle accused, pointing fingers at her.

"She did. Don't listen to her, guys. She's a terrible babysitter, right?"

"Yeah!" The three agreed.

"Fine, no ice cream later." Sophie compromised.

"Jack can get us ice cream." Kyle pointed out. "Right, Jack?"

"Sorry, guys." Jack shrugged. "Tapped out."

The kids groaned. Then spent the day trying to get back on her good side. On the beach, they talked sweetly and did as she asked and she playfully ordered them like "slaves." She made them do things like bury their father and put a hermit crab she found in Jack's hair and push Jamie into the waves.

The whole day, Jack noticed Jamie was extra clingy to Laura. He would hug her around her middle, kiss her neck playfully, pull her into the water with him, and tickle. She wasn't annoyed with it, like he'd seen with so many couples. In fact, she enjoyed the attention, as if it wasn't all that common. Jack knew Jamie gave her plenty of attention, but never this much. At least, not that he'd seen.

Then he remembered was "date night." At least, for Jamie and Laura. It was "adult night" for Susan, Mike, and Amy. Jack wondered what Jamie and Laura were going to do. He knew the adults were going to go to a bar. Jack and Sophie were in charge of babysitting.

When it was time to go back inside and clean up, Jack noticed something rather peculiar. After his shower, he looked at himself in the mirror. His skin. It had  _color_. His face and shoulders were pink and his skin was much darker than it had ever been. He had to stop and stare. It was so weird. He just looked  _so weird_. He couldn't get over it. This was the complete opposite of how he looked before. Healthy. Warm.

After getting dressed, he sat in the living room, staring at his arms. Everyone was still bustling around, getting dolled up or getting in PJs. He ran hands over his skin to see if it felt any different. Nope. It felt the same. The pink on his shoulders stung, though. He figured that would go away. It was probably sunburn.

He was still caught up in his amazement and didn't notice when Kyle ran up and tackled him. He laughed and rolled around before pulling him into a headlock and giving him a noogie. He looked up when bare feet wearing an anklet stopped in front of him. He looked up at Laura and grinned.

"Hey!"

"Have you seen Jamie? Or Sophie?" She asked, sitting on the floor with the boys. She looked cute. A sundress and wavy hair. A flower pinned in. He supposed this was common for a date, to get dressed up and look your best and treat your other by looking good. Or something. He didn't understand the point once you've already seen every side of the person. But he guessed he'd understand eventually.

"Come to think of it, no." Jack pulled Kyle up and kept his arms wrapped tightly around the boy to prevent escape. Huh. He wondered where they went. Not far, most likely.

Jack nodded to Kyle and Laura smirked. Her hands darted to the boy's neck and ribs, tickling him. He screamed with laughter and Jack held him down tightly, laughing maniacally. They were soon joined by Nina and Gil and they messed around, Laura being careful not to mess up her appearance too badly.

They stopped when Susan, Mike, and Amy came in to say goodbye. When asked about the whereabouts of Susan's children, they had no idea. Amy gave Jack instructions. Feed them. Play a movie before bed. They'll be out like a light. Bed at nine, ten the latest. Jack nodded and told them not to worry.

Well, if Sophie wasn't around, they would have to worry. Jack had no idea how to cook or work a movie player. He'd screw it all up. Soon after the parents left, Sophie came bounding into the living room.

"There you are, Laura!" She grinned. "Jamie's waiting for you on the beach."

"What? Nobody tells me anything!" Laura feigned annoyance and bid them goodbye with a bright smile before running towards the beach.

Sophie clapped her hands together and ordered Jack to keep the children busy while she cooked. No problem. When Sophie's back was turned, Jack darted into their room and dug through one of her bags until he found what he was looking for. He grabbed it and then snuck into Jamie's room. What he was looking for there was much easier to find. It was right on the table beside the single bed. He grabbed that and sat with the kids in a circle.

"This is the story of the Guardians." Jack started, laying on his stomach with the notebook in front of him and a sketchbook in front of the children. "The Guardians that protect all things sacred in childhood."

The words were progress and notes for Jamie's story. Jack didn't need them, the notebook was more for show. The sketchbook had stylistic drawings of the Guardians in the different scenarios described by Jamie's story. Jamie knew he wanted this to be his first story published. He was having trouble finding any companies to take it, though. It was mostly "put in the pile" as Jamie described for stories that the company had yet to look at.

For each image, Jack described a story. A scene that played. He painted vivid imagery and when Sophie came in to call them for dinner, Jack quickly snapped the books shut and hid them under his body.

"… What are you doing?"

"Nothing."

"Is that my sketchbook?"

He smirked and she jumped on to his back and rolled him over, making him call out. Man, she could be rough sometimes! Probably because she grew up with Jamie and himself. Pages fluttered when Sophie accidentally kicked the notebooks and wrestled with Jack. He laughed and flipped her over before sitting on her back and grinning at the kids.

They were laughing. Gil noticed a piece of paper that fluttered out of one of the notebooks. He picked it up, his eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"You have a picture of them?!" Gil stood up excitedly, pointing to the picture. Sophie blinked and her jaw dropped.

Oops.

"Let me see." Kyle took the picture and looked at it. "Not really. Not all of them. Jack Frost isn't there."

"… Yes he is." Gil pointed. "See? Right there."

"Where's the Tooth Fairy?" Nina asked, frowning over her brothers' shoulders.

"Right here." They pointed.

Jack and Sophie looked to each other. What would they say? How would they explain this? Jack let Sophie up and she gathered the notebooks and put them on the coffee table. Jack watched the siblings argue about who was in the picture and who wasn't.

Sophie ushered them to the kitchen table where they sat and ate spagetti with meatballs and garlic bread. Gil was looking at the picture that his sister had set between all of them. He looked up and looked back at the picture.

His fork dropped.

Nina looked at him. His mouth was open, shock all over his face. Gil pushed aside the plate, grabbed the picture and, against Sophie and Nina's protests, crawled on top to the table and stopped in front of Jack, holding the picture next to him to compare.

"You're Jack Frost!"

Jack looked at Sophie. He could see her chest rising and falling rapidly, panic setting in. He had to relax the situation before she fell into a full blown panic attack.

"No I'm not. See? He's got white hair and blue eyes." Jack said, pointing.

"You look just like him!" Gil insisted.

Gil. A six year old. Figured this out. What was he going to do?

Sophie had put her face in her hands and Jack could see this was becoming too much for her. She was going to break soon. He had to get control of the situation.

Jack stood up and leaned over to Gil, cupping his hands around the boy's ear. "Let's keep this between us, okay?" Gil looked to him in disbelief. Jack gave his signature mischievous smirk and winked. "It'll be our little secret."

"What did you say to him?" Kyle asked.

"Whoever doesn't finish their dinner doesn't get cake."

Gil continue to stare at Jack. Jack got up and swung him off the table, flipping him upside down and swinging him back up. The boy was small for kids his age which made it much easier. Gil was laughing and shaken out of his shock.

Gil was giggling and searching Jack's face. He leaned forward and whispered, "So you're really him?" Jack nodded. The boy was satisfied when Jack put him back into his seat. They sat down, ate, and talked about the picture. Sophie was taking deep breaths. Jack rubbed her back and whispered assurances in her ear.

Jack knew Gil could keep a secret.

Nina and Kyle wondered why they couldn't see some of the Guardians. Jack explained it was because they didn't believe in those specific Guardians. During dinner, they asked questions about the stories Jack was telling. To help relax Sophie, Jack pretended he needed reminding and asked Sophie how certain parts went.

By dessert time, Sophie had calmed down. No panic attack. Phew.

Sophie put on a movie and let the three of them be. Her and Jack went out onto the balcony to look out onto the ocean. They leaned against the banister, the cool salt breeze ghosting over their faces. Jack watched her. She was lit dimly by the light coming through the sliding glass door and the poor excuse for a light by the door.

She had escaped into her own world. She hadn't done that around him in a while. When she usually started to daydream, she had made sure Jack was occupied. Well, Jack couldn't exactly call it "daydream." It was the place in Sophie's mind she went to when she needed to organize her thoughts.

Her eyes were slightly glossy and unfocused. Her lips parted and her muscles relaxed. Jack wondered what it was like in there. From the way Sophie described it, it was colorful and there were a million pictures. It was a jumble of nonsense and clarity. So much contradiction yet it flowed so easily.

He felt like if he so much as caught a glimpse, he'd be swept away in the cacophony.

"They… they wouldn't understand." Sophie shook her head, finally coming back. "They wouldn't understand why you gave it up. Why you're like this now."

"I know." Jack laid his head on his arms that folded over the banister. "They'd feel guilty."

"Even though it wasn't their fault." Sophie sighed. "I didn't want them to find out. But… Gil."

Jack head-butt her in her exposed ribs. "He's not gonna tell. I'll explain it in a way he understands. Don't worry, okay, Soph? I'll take care of it."

Sophie looked at him and leaned to his level. She kissed his nose and pressed her forehead against his. He wrapped his arms around her head and shoulders and planted butterfly kisses on her lips.

"You're amazing, Jack."

"Nah, not anymore." Jack snickered, taking a jab at his new humanity.

She nuzzled against him before resting her chin on the crook of his elbow to look back at the ocean. He watched her, she watched the ocean. They were in comfortable silence. The door behind them was slightly cracked and they could hear laughter.

"Is that Jamie?" Jack looked out and followed her gaze. He smiled, seeing Jamie and Laura on the water. They were dimly illuminated by torch lights. "Jamie asked me to help make a romantic setting for them. So I cheated a little. Jamie really wanted a sweet, romantic night for the two of them. So, I used shells an starfish and tiki torches to make someplace for them to eat and drink the wine he got and just be together."

Jack smiled. "He's really grown up, huh?" The boy watched the man that he had been with since he was eight. "He looks so happy."

"I hope I'm happy like that someday," Sophie sighed wistfully. "With someone who loves me so unconditionally and just… makes me smile without even trying… and… I…" Sophie let out a groan and dropped her head on to the railing. "I just want to be as happy as Jamie."

Jack took her hand and squeezed it. Something in him said  _he_  had to be that person. No, not had. He  _wanted_  to be that person that would be there for her. He wanted to make her happy and he knew if she asked, he'd do everything she told him to.

"You'll be happy, Sophie." he promised. "I'll make sure you're happy. Even if it's not me that's making you smile, I just want someone to be there to make you laugh. If… If we don't work out. If you find someone before I can say for sure how I feel… At least I know you're in good hands."

Sophie suddenly had his face in her hands and her lips were pressed hard against his. Jack, surprised, kissed her back, tangling his hand in her hair. She released him and smiled, running a thumb under his eye and across his cheek bone.

"I keep imagining it's you." Sophie admitted. "I mean, you already make me really happy just by being you. You don't try and impress me, you take me for who I am, you accept me and you're just so amazing Jack Frost. But… I'll try and stop myself. So I don't get disappointed." She smiled and kissed his nose.

His heart ached at her last comment. No… she should never be disappointed. And Jack didn't want to disappoint her. He didn't want to see her let down or heart broken. What would he do, though, if he found out that love wasn't what he wanted it to be? What would make her hurt more? His rejection or his acceptance of a lifestyle he didn't want to lead? If they stayed just like this, though, she wouldn't get hurt too terribly, right? … Right?

It all just felt so half-assed.

A scream on the beach snapped them out of it. They looked over to Jamie and Laura frolicking in the sand, chasing each other, and screaming with joy and excitement. What were they screaming about? Jack assumed they finished off the bottle of wine.

It was time to tuck the kids in. Jack and Sophie assisted them to bed, Jack having to carry a passed out Gil. They tucked them in and bid them good night before cleaning up the games and washing dishes together. When they were done, it was about time for the Dreamsand to start making it's rounds. They settled themselves on the balcony and watched the sky, waiting for the sand to take over.

Jamie and Laura were still screaming. Or they just started back up again, since they were heading towards the house. Jack stood up from the lounge chair he settled on and peered towards the water at them. They were making their way through the path.

"She said yes!" Jamie cried out, spinning around. Laura slung onto his back as he carried her, her laughter ringing out jovially.

"We're getting married~!" She sang at the top of her lungs.

Jack sat back on the lounge chair and looked to Sophie. Her face was confused and unreadable before it brightened up. She grinned from ear-to-ear and ran to the banister to look down at Jamie and Laura.

Jamie was… getting married?


	12. Chapter 12

He was getting married.  _Jamie,_  the little eight-year-old that lost a tooth when a sofa hit him was getting  _married_. No, no, that couldn't be right, right? He was just a kid and girls had cooties except for Pippa and Cupcake because they were cool and not really  _girls_. They were girly to an extend, but they were just like one of the guys. And his first kiss at twelve was weird and awkward. And his first girlfriend was crazy. And he realized he was still just a kid and just wanted to  _play_.

Jack was having trouble wrapping his head around this. Sophie was bouncing with excitement and ran towards the balcony door, only stopping when she realized Jack wasn't following. He told her he'd catch up and he would, but he just really needed to  _breathe_  for a second. It was so overwhelming.

He realized he had taken those years for granted. He didn't mean to, not by any means. He was having fun and Jamie was awesome and his best friend and never really seemed to change much. He became a bit more serious in high school, but still went along with everything Jack did. Never once had he said he was "too old" for anything. They still went sledding and built snow forts and did everything they had since Jamie was a child. And Jamie never got tired of it.

And now he was… going to get married?

Sophie didn't leave. She sat in the chair across from Jack and took his hand. He stared at their hands, both having gained a lot of color since the week started. Even Sophie… When had he started to think of her as anything more than a toddler who loved the Easter Bunny? When had she gotten older than he appeared to be?

"It's not that… I'm not happy for Jamie. I am. I really am." Jack said quietly. "It's just… seventeen years passed by way too quickly."

It was just a blink since then. He felt so selfish for thinking this way, but he still felt like he missed so much. He had been there the whole time, but they'd grown, matured, and they weren't children anymore.

Sophie kissed his forehead. "I know."

The door opened downstairs and Sophie pulled Jack to his feet. Right! They should see Jamie and Laura! In the living room, they bumped into the couple. The four of them breathless.

Jamie and Laura were red in the face from excitement, happiness, and exerted energy. Jack and Sophie were in bright, grinning disbelief. Then, they were all wrapped in each other, hugging and kisses were shared between siblings and soon-to-be sisters-in-law. Sophie admired the rather  _large_  ring Jamie had given Laura. How the heck was he able to afford that?

The four of them went outside so that they wouldn't wake the kids. Jamie explained it was going to be a long-term engagement. When he finally graduated and got a real job, only then, would they get married. So, perhaps in a year. Maybe two.

Jack had to give Jamie credit. It was smart. He wasn't jumping into things. He wanted to make sure Laura only had the best from him as a husband. He hadn't rushed into marriage like he'd seen so many times, but he only assumed it was because Jamie's mother had done the same thing. He was taking care and wanted to make this marriage last and Laura wanted the same thing.

Kisses were shared. The sky  _burst_  with light as Dreamsand stretched under the clouds. Laura sat on Jamie's lap and watched, her eyes so bright and her smile so wide. Jamie was only able to watch her.

It was late when the parents came home. They were loud and laughing and Sophie went to make sure they didn't wake the children before ushering them out onto the balcony where Jack, Jamie, and Laura waited.

They asked about the parents' evening. They had a lot of fun, bar hopping and dancing and conversing with other tourists. The parents asked about the kids and Sophie told them they were easy and went to bed on time. When it came to Jamie and Laura's turn, they were trying very hard not to smile too widely.

"Well, I met Jamie on the beach where Sophie arranged a  _beautiful_  place to share a picnic." Laura started. "We ate—"

"—Drank a bottle of wine—" Jamie added.

"It was really sweet and romantic." Laura nodded.

"I try," Jamie winked.

"It was just the two of us and the sound of the ocean. He looks over at me. Gets really quiet. Jamie's normally a pretty brave and bold boy, but something had him scared. He tried to say something but can't. So, he took a stick and wrote in the sand…." Laura was so red and she covered her face with uncontainable excitement.

"He didn't." Susan gasped.

"I did." Jamie nodded.

Susan pulled them both into a tight embrace and kissed them and started crying. Mike and Amy congratulated them. Laura showed off the ring and Jamie admitted he'd been saving for it for about a year. Jack isn't quite sure what he should be feeling right now, but he knows he's so happy for his best friend who looks so blissful and so sure.

He looked over at Sophie and saw tears in her eyes and the widest grin. He scooted closer and took her hand and she held his tightly. She was so excited and so happy for Jamie. She wiped her eyes and laid her head on Jack's shoulder. Her brother was getting married. Her best friend was the happiest he'd been in his whole life up to this point.

And everything was just so overwhelming for Jack.

The kids had to put the parents to bed. They wanted to stay up and have some more drinks to celebrate. Jamie and Laura indulged them in one more. Jack and Sophie were given glasses. They toasted, took a sip, then pretended to drink as the adults finished theirs. Jamie and Sophie took Mike and Amy to bed, stifling fits of giggles all the while. Jack threw a blanket over Susan who had made herself comfortable on her couch.

"My babies are growing up." she muttered. "'S all sooo fast."

Jack sat on the coffee table across from her. He picked up the drink she set on the carpet and placed it beside himself. The woman looked up to Jack.

"I wonder what their good-for-nothing father would say about this." Susan sighed and rolled onto her back. "He wouldn't care. He never did. I remember when Sophie asked to meet him. I called him hundreds of times, left a million messages and he changed his number three times. She just wanted to meet it. It's not like she wanted to get to know him or beg for him to her life. She just wanted to see what kind of person he was."

Jack stiffened. He only heard so much about Jamie and Sophie's father. Neither of them had a lot of information. Jamie remembered him but didn't want to talk about him. Sophie was too young.

"He was a good guy, you know. He wasn't evil. I honestly don't even know why he left. Not a word. Maybe he was in something that got him in trouble, like the mafia or whatever." Susan sighed. "Sorry, Jack. I don't mean to dump this on you."

Jack put a hand on her shoulder. "No, it's okay." he assured her. Honestly, he was curious. But he would never ask directly. She took a deep breath and shook herself. The woman smiled at him.

"You're a good guy, Jack. You watched my kids. You made sure they were safe. They always made you sound like this big brother they never had. 'M glad I got to meet you." She yawned. "Even without a father, you were there to guide them in the right direction. Jamie didn't have to watch Sophie all by himself. I can't do enough to thank you. It's like you helped me raise my kids. They turned out muuuuuuch better than I anticipated. I was scared they'd turn all rebellious and distrustful like how everyone told me they would.

"Being a single parent… people look at you like you're doing something wrong. Like a same-sex couple that has kids. Like 'you're wrong and your kids are gonna turn out wrong.' But, but I wasn't going to get married  _just_  so my children could have a father. I focused on them. I gave them as much attention as I could and loved and adored them. I didn't want to focus on a  _man_  that would be a stranger to them. Even if it would have made having them much easier. They could have gotten things they wanted and lived in a better house and been cherished by two people. Maybe. But we're happy the way we are." Susan nodded. "And I have such  _great_  kids. That really—that really knew how to just  _embrace_  childhood. So, thank you, Jack."

Jack smiled. "You're welcome." He had never actually thought he was raising them. He always just imagined them like his younger sister and how he would have liked for her to grow up. Since he didn't get the chance to watch her, he tried to do what he would have done with his sister with those two.

"I'd hug you, but I can't sit up."

"Go to sleep, Suzy."

Susan groaned. "Not you, too!" Jack laughed. "Mike calls me that because he knows I hate it. Like how a Mary Anne would hate being called 'Mary.' It's either Mary Anne or Annie. No, no. Don't call me Suzy, Jackson."

"I regret introducing myself as Jackson, now." Jack laughed.

"Then… then we'll make a deal! You're just Jack and I'm just Susan. Okay?"

Jack stood up, taking the glass and heading towards the kitchen. "Good night, Suzy."

She let out a sound of annoyance. "Good night, Jackson."

Jack took the glass to the sink and left it for morning, when everyone was sober and probably felt like sick. He went downstairs and waited for Sophie in their room, only to remember he had left notebooks and sketchbooks in the living room. They were not safe there. Jack quickly and quietly went back into the room.

He retrieved them and sat back on his bed, flipping through to make sure everything was there. Wait, where was the picture?

Jack remembered when Jamie snapped it. He had become familiar with all of the Guardians. He had earned their trust and love just as much as Jack loved him. When Jamie asked if he could have a picture, they were curious but wary at first. There was no harm in it, they figured and lined up in North's workshop during a Christmas party he threw closer to New Years than Christmas.

Jamie and Sophie were invited to that one.

Jamie wanted the picture just as a remembrance. Just to make sure he still believed in all of them. Jack knew Jamie waited for the day when he would look at the picture and one of the Guardians would be missing. But none of them faded.

Jack flipped through again, more photographs falling out of the books. Where was the picture? Maybe the children had it. They had to. They probably stashed it somewhere or it was under one of their pillows and Jack just had to get it back.

The next day, they went to an amusement park. Jack really never had been to one. Jamie and Sophie did  _not_ believe him. He  _had_  been to one. Did he ride the rides? No. There were rarely ever empty seats and it would be weird if there was and the seat seemed like it held someone. What did he need rollar coasters for when he could ride the wind? Any of the ride, he could recreate himself Except the water rides. Those, he replaced by jumping from waterfalls.

He had a blast! It felt  _just_  like flying at the top of a coaster loop and the thrill and spinning was the best part. He had never had the bottom of his stomach drop like it had that day. He was breathless and excited and he wanted to go again and again. Sophie and Jamie dragged him on to the next ride and they repeated the process. Jack didn't care about waiting in line, but no one else had that patience.

They celebrated the engagement by going to a nice restaurant. Jack wasn't happy about having to wear tennis shoes, but for Jamie he'd keep them on. Jack made sure to watch his drink to be certain no one had switched.

When the dessert came out, Sophie raised her glass to Jamie and Laura. Everyone followed suit. "The the happy couple." She said with a bright smile. "To hope that Laura can forgive Jamie every time he's a jerk and gets stubborn over something stupid. That Jamie won't ever forget that Laura is the best anyone could ever have. And that Laura won't realize she can do so much better."

Jamie only smiled and shook his head. He raises his glass. "Here's to hoping Sophie gives a better speech at the wedding."

A round of laughs and a toast. Jamie and Laura kissed, the children blanched and Susan had tears in her eyes. Jack felt she knew better than anyone else what it felt like to see Jamie like this when it seemed like just yesterday the man was a boy.

The day after was the last day of vacation. They made the best of it, making memories and Sophie convinced Amy and Mike to let the children say up to watch Dreamsand with them. They were amazed and watched in wonder.

Jack climbed up onto the roof using the outside table and reached for the sand. Sophie begged him to stop and come down, thinking he was going to fall and hurt himself. He paid no mind to her worries, singing " _She begs me to come down—Says, 'Boy stop foolin' around'—I told her, 'I love the view from up here'_ —WHOAH!"Jack almost slipped but caught himself, only making her scream.

He cupped it and carefully climbed down with Jamie's help. Kneeling in front of Nina, Kyle, and Gil, he opened his palms. The sand twisted and formed into the shape of Sandman.

They gasped in shock. He urged them to touch it and they hesitantly reached forward and grazed their fingers. They were shocked to realize it was soft and smooth, not hard and gritty like real sand.

The sand above them had made it's rounds and faded. The sand in his hand broke into three tendrils before swirling above Nina, Kyle, and Gil's heads, making them drowsy. Jamie caught Gil as he leaned forward and he, Sophie, and Jack carried them to bed.

This was by far the best week he ever had. He hoped everything would only get better. His only complaint?

The car ride back. Ugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please give me some feedback if you think there's something wrong. I'd only like to improve!


	13. Chapter 13

Jack felt bad. He never got the photograph from the notebooks back. Jamie assured him it wasn't a problem, he had a digital copy and really, Jack, stop worrying. It's not a big deal. Besides, if one of the kids had it, he didn't mind.

Two weeks before moving into their new apartment, they went job hunting. Jamie drove them into the town they would be living in and parked outside of the building they would soon be calling home. They needed to walk. There were plenty of places to work in walking distance. And, since Jack couldn't drive, that would probably be best if he could walk to work.

One of the restaurants they went to, Sophie applied. Jamie wasn't certain this was a good idea. Sophie had horrible social anxiety and didn't have the best memory. But the manager seemed to like her. She thought Sophie was witty, even though she was shy.

It also helped that she recognized her from a gallery showing.

While Sophie only had to apply to a few places before finding work, Jack was having trouble. Most places needed a social security card or, you know, they wanted him to actually be a citizen. As they moved to the next business place, they walked past a daycare.

Maybe they would…? No way. He'd probably be laughed at if he asked for a job. First, he was young. Really young. Then, he was an illegal alien. Had no experience working with kids and Jamie was pretty sure you had to go to school to work for something like this.

Jack sighed and leaned against the fence by the playground. Children were playing, their screams of laughter ringing through the air. He felt the fence behind him moving. He looked left. Then right. There weren't any children near it. He looked up.

A small, red-headed child looked down at him. He was perched upon the top of the fence. The boy looked back in the playground and Jack followed his gaze. Two more boys that were identical to him were distracting the monitors.

Jack backed up to get a better look at him and put his hands on his hips. "What are you doing up there, kiddo?"

The boy simply stared at him before releasing a birdcall. His brothers suddenly made more of a racket and the boy climbed down to run off as Jamie and Sophie got distracted. Jack rushed and grabbed him, picking him up.

"What are you doing?" Jack questioned, genuinely curious. Jack knew a troublemaker when he saw one. This one and his brother were probably a handful. The boy crossed his arms indignantly and turned to the bakery next door. "Oh. You want to get sweets, huh?"

The child huffed before struggling and trying to get out of Jack's grasp. A name tag was stuck to his clothes that read Hamish. Huh. That was an uncommon name for this part of the world. Jack secured his grip on the boy and asked Jamie to buy about twenty treats. Jamie, confused, did as he was told.

Jack carried the bag and the boy to the front of the building and walked in to the entrance, Jamie and Sophie behind him. The receptionist looked up, noticed the boy in Jack's arms, and sighed heavily.

"Again? Which one are you?" She stood up to eye the name tag. "Hamish."

"He's trouble, huh?"

"You have  _no_  idea." the girl picked up a phone. "Yes? It happened again. Hamish this time." She set it down. "Sorry, we'll take him in a moment. Just hold on to him."

Jack nodded and set the pastries down on the desk. He lifted the small boy into the air to try and get him to smile. He was not amused. Jack smiled wryly before smirking and backing up. "Nah, didn't think you'd like that. You climb fences. What's that gonna do for you?"

Jack tickled the boy and spun before tossing him up and catching him.  _That_  got him to smile. He curled into a silent fit of giggles as a woman came in. Jamie and Sophie sat in the chairs, watching him with smiles.

"Thank you for bringing him back. That's the third time this week." the kindly woman nodded to Jack. She was fairly young, not much older than Jamie. She took Hamish and put an arm on Jack's bicep. "Hamish and his brothers really are trouble. They're sweet, but won't listen to anyone. Thank you for bringing him back."

"It's no problem." Jack shook his head and chuckled. "I like him. He just wanted to get some sweets." Jack nodded to the bag. "You can give them to the kids, I think I got enough. Is twenty-five good?"

She looked him up and down. Jack shifted his weight between his feet. He couldn't tell what she thought of him. If she could trust the sweets he offered. That was fine.

"Well, guess we'll go. Bye bye, Hamish." Jack waved, walking out with Jamie and Sophie.

They moved on, applied to a handful of places, and started walking back. Even Jamie applied to places he thought might make him more money than the job he had near his school. Jack wasn't hopeful. They walked back and Jack glanced through the daycare gates and smiled when he saw one of the children looking out the window and eating a pastry.

When they moved in, Sophie had gotten the job at the bar and grill and Jamie had been hired at an office store that was much closer to home than to college. Susan helped them bring everything they needed up the three flights of stairs. Once they had moved everything upstairs, they all collapsed onto the couch, out of breath and starving.

Jamie ordered pizza and they ate as they unpacked. They weren't sure what to do with the spare room. They left it relatively empty. Jamie still had essentials from his apartment near school. Pots and pans, silverware, a table. He pretty much furnished the kitchen.

It was late before Susan left. She turned to Jack and took his hands in hers. He was shocked when he felt something hard hit his hand. She pulled away and left a simple keyboard phone. She thanked him, kissed his forehead, and left.

A cell phone. Jack was given a cell phone. It was… strange. He knew he'd need it. He knew it was useful to stay in contact. But he had  _no_  freaking idea how to use it. Sophie sat with him and explained how to work it. They learned it already had Jamie, Sophie, and Susan's numbers in the contacts. Jamie pointed out that it was his old phone and that it was really easy to use.

But Jack had never used a phone before.

They practiced using it and Jamie got him a custom ring tone. Jack's favorite song now played whenever someone called him. Sophie called him so he could practice answering, but he took her by her hands and danced with her as he sang along to the ringtone.

 _"Fly me to the moon—Let me play among those stars—Let me see what spring is like—Oh Jupiter and Mars.—In other words, hold my_  hand,"Jack spun Sophie who giggled. " _In other words, baby, kiss me._ " He pressed her close and dripped her low. The song stopped and played over.

"Should I… er… leave you two?" Jamie scratched his chin, chuckling.

"Shut up," Sophie's cheeks burned and Jamie made kissy faces. Jack pulled her up and frowned at his phone.

"It doesn't play the whole song." Jack complained.

"Well, it only plays thirty seconds." Jamie explained. "It's only supposed to let you know someone's calling you."

"That's lame!" Jack blew a raspberry.

A week later, Jack hadn't heard back from any of the placed he applied to. He was starting to feel discouraged. He distracted himself while Jamie and Sophie were at work by familiarizing himself with the town. He'd walk, carrying a pair of flip flops to make sure he could walk inside if he needed to.

Jack passed the daycare again, intending to go farther down the street where a sign for a bookstore hung, but stopped when he heard a pattering behind him. Jack turned and saw a bush of red hair scuttling behind a trash can.

"Hamish?" Jack asked, moving closer. He peered around the can and the boy was gone. Huh. He turned to look for him but stopped when he almost tripped over him.

"Whoah! Kid, you gotta be careful." He quickly scooped the boy up before he ran off. The child was trying to wrestle himself from Jack's arms. "… Harris?" The name tag was a different name but there wasn't so much as a freckle of a difference.

"You know, you really shouldn't be trying to escape." Jack commented as he walked towards the front door. "There's a lot of bad people around and—ah, you've probably heard this all before. You know what you're doing, don't ya?" Jack winked.

Inside, the foyer, Jack looked to the receptionist. She sighed, dropping her head on the desk before calling the woman from before in. Jack held Harris towards her.

"Sorry, I didn't bring treats this time."

The woman took Harris. "What's your name?" she asked.

"Jack Frost."

Harris stopped and looked to Jack. He stared, eyebrows raised. The woman held out a hand for him that he shook. "Lisa. It's nice to meet you, Jack. Thank you for bringing them back. And holding on to them for June. She's terrified and won't touch them. They… sort of traumatized her."

"They put clay in my hair!" the receptionist cried.

Jack laughed. "It's no problem. They're interesting kids."

The woman snorted. "You say that because you deal with them one by one. It takes five of us to tame three of them."

Jack laughed. "Man, if you need a break, let me know! I'll take them off your hands. They sound like fun!"

"You say that now." Lisa rolled her eyes. "They've been kicked out of two daycares in four months. I really doubt a kid like you would be able to handle them."

Yeah, Jack really wanted to play with these kids.

Jack ruffled Harris's hair and poked his nose. "Don't cause too much trouble for poor Lisa now." He leaned in to whisper in his ear, "I won't say anything about June, though."

Harris blinked at Jack before nodding. Jack gave Lisa and Harris a salute before walking out.

He felt lighter. Two of of three from a set of triplets. He almost hoped he'd get to meet the last one. They really seemed like interesting boys. They  _had_  to be if they got kicked out of daycare.

Bouncing on his toes, he went to the bookshop. Maybe, hopefully, they'd hire him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry. This one's short-ish and not so exciting. Need to get some boring details out of the way, right?


	14. Chapter 14

The last week of August, Jamie and Sophie started school. And Jack still didn't have a job. Frustrated and needing calming, he frequented the book store. He never bought the books, but the owners seemed okay with him hanging out and reading. Jack liked comic books, adventure novels, fantasy and science fiction. He avoided romance at all costs, normally because it was so completely  _unrealistic_. Once, he accidentally picked up an… er… erotic novel. It was under the romantic genre and he had no idea! Never again did he go  _near_  the romance section in bookstores.

Jack picked up where he left off the day before, lounging on an armchair. It was a new best seller about a boy discovering he had power over a race that was slowly destroying the humans. Jack was curious as to why and how, so he pressed forward, grinning.

He heard a scuttling and looked around. What? Hm. Must have been hearing things. He went back to the book. A few paged later he could have sworn he saw orange out of the corner out of his eye. Jack leaned over the back of the armchair and looked around.

"Hello?"

Nothing. Jack turned to go back to his book and nearly had a heart attack. The heck?! Where did… they…

"… Did you guys run away?" Jack asked, resting his chin in his hand. Three small red-headed boys nodded. Identical. In every way. They even wore the same clothes. The only difference was the three name tags that read Harris, Hubert, and Hamish. "Does Lisa know where you went?" They shook their heads.

Jack knew he should take them back right away. He knew he should, it was the right thing to do, buuuuut… Jack put his book back and pulled out a book of poems. It was one of his favorites.

"Have you guys heard anything by Shel Silverstein?" Jack asked. They made themselves comfortable in the chair with Jack and he opened the book. " _Where the Sidewalk Ends_  is one of the best books I've ever read. I'm gonna read you a few poems, but we have to go back then, okay?"

The boys didn't say a word. He wondered if they could talk. Well, maybe they could but chose not to. Jack flipped through and read them some of his favorites. He didn't keep them for more than twenty minutes before putting the book back and putting Hamish on his shoulders and carrying Harris and Hubert in each arm. He bid farewell to the owner as he walked out to the daycare.

Walking in, June the receptionist jumped to her feet. Jack nodded to her with a grin and she ran into the back room, screaming for Lisa. Lisa came bounding in and stopped, putting a hand on her chest and sighing with relief.

"Oh thank God they're safe!" Lisa rushed over to collect them.

"I think they followed me," Jack said, pulling Hamish off of his shoulders. "I was in the bookstore and they just kind of came up to me."

"What?" Lisa gasped in disbelief and terror. "They went that far on their own? Oh, God, what am I going to tell their parents?" She rubbed her face with her shoulder since her arms were occupied. "And why you? Come with me."

Jack followed Lisa into the back where the children played. She set Harris and Hubert down in what appeared to be a lunch room and Jack let Hamish jump out of his arms to join his brothers. Lisa shut the door and leaned against it.

"We put them in there when we get overwhelmed. There's no way out but this door." she explained. "I've never had more trouble with children before, Jack. I've tried everything. I don't know what to do. They terrorize my employees and run away and play pranks on the other children. They can be so sweet when they want to be, but I'm at my wit's end."

"They're just playing," Jack laughed.

"You work here for a day and tell me 'they're just playing.'" Lisa challenged.

"… Can I?" Jack knew she wasn't being serious. But he really wouldn't want to work anywhere else. He loved kids and those three had to be the best he'd ever come across.

She looked him up and down. He was starting to become uncomfortable with people staring at him now. She was chewing on her words. "… How old are you?"

"Eighteen."

"Have any brothers or sisters?"

"A little sister." He wouldn't mention she died about three hundred years prior.

"How good are you with children?"

"Kids  _love_  me." Jack nodded. "As you can see, I was able to bring them back without a problem."

"You're hired."

"Wait, what?!" Jack jumped back. Was she serious?!

"Today. You're babysitting them. I'll give you some cash, you take care of the DunBroch triplets." She was not joking. Her face was stone sober, though desperate. "Please, just for today. Their sister will be here at five to pick them up. They listen to her. Please, please, Jack."

"I don't… I…" he wasn't sure if she should tell her that he really had no qualifications for this job. But she seemed to find that he was just what she needed. She wasn't asking about the other children, just these three.

"… Nevermind, sorry, I just figured since they seem to like you it'd be worth a shot." Lisa sighed and rubbed her forehead. "You've probably got stuff to do."

"I'll do it!"

"Really?" Lisa looked up, hopeful.

"Yeah!" Jack nodded. "Bring us some toys, crayons, and coloring books. I'll take care of them."

Lisa took his hands and thanked him sincerely before going off to bring his requested item. Jack slipped into the room. The boys were nowhere to be found. Huh… Where did they—Jack cried out as he was ambushed and brought to the ground.

When Lisa returned, Jack was wrestling with them laughing and throwing them up into the air, only to have them fall and cling to him again. They were like monkeys! Lisa quickly set everything down and retreated to the next room.

They played with the toys and while they started coloring, Harris ripped a page out of the book, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it at Jack's face. Jack blinked before throwing it back at him. Suddenly, he was bombarded with paper balls and small children.

He learned new tricks by watching them. He taught them how to curb their tricks, who to play them on, and how far they should go. It would be more fun for  _everyone_  not just them. Being a trickster was fun, but you needed to know the limits if you wanted everyone to enjoy them.

He learned they didn't talk, but they had their own method of communication. They whistled, created sounds most people wouldn't be able to mimic, and had nature calls. That was their language. They all seemed to think alike, something like a hive mind between them. They didn't need to talk. They knew exactly what the other was thinking.

When it was almost time for their sister to pick them up, the boys sat on the floor and went through the papers. They were opening them and throwing them over their shoulders. Jack wondered what they were doing until Hubert held up a sheet with an image of two children building a snowman. Simultaneously Hamish and Harris pointed to the picture then pointed to Jack.

Jack frowned. "I'm a snowman?"

The three of them didn't move. They stared at him with frowns and furrowed brows. He knew what they meant. Harris heard his name and probably assumed he was the Spirit of Winter. He chuckled humorlessly and tossed a handful of the sheets at them.

The door opened. A girl with a  _mass_  of fiery red curly hair walked in. She looked about Jack's age. Her hands were on her hips, she blew a strand of curls out of her face, and she shook her head.

"You boys went to the bookstore?"

Oh. That explained a lot, actually. The girl had a very strong Scottish accent. Perhaps they had moved here recently?

"Aye, Mum and Dad aren't going to be happy to hear this." the girl brushed hair off of her shoulder and looked to Jack. "So, Lisa trapped you with them? I'm so sorry."

Jack grinned. "No way! It was fun! These guys are awesome."

"You're joking, right?"

Jack shook his head fervently. "Nope. I wish I worked here. It'd be fun to play with them all the time."

The girl laughed. "You say that now. Praise the Lord you don't live with them. Come on, ya wee devils. Time to go home." She ushered her siblings out of the room and looked back at Jack. "Thanks for lookin' out for them."

Jack nodded. "Sure."

When the girl left with the triplets, Jack picked up with sheet with the snowman on it. He wondered… maybe they'd actually seen him? He did bring a blizzard to this town back in January. And brought a pretty harsh winter to parts of Scotland. Maybe they caught a glimpse of him? No, it couldn't be.

Jack started to clean up their mess when Lisa came in and assisted him. She praised him, totally amazed at how he was able to control them. When she asked for his secret, he admitted he was just like them. She instantly became wary and he assured her his tricks were usually aimed towards children. He just wanted them to have  _fun_.

As Jack was leaving, Lisa handed him a check. He looked at the check, knew he needed the money, but handed it back to her. "I'm not an employee. I did it as a favor. Not really for the money. Besides, those kids were really interesting. I'm glad I got to know them."

Besides, he wasn't even sure if what he did today was allowed. He wondered if she would get in trouble.

Jack meandered back to their apartment. He fumbled with the key, flip flops in hand, and walked in. "I'm home." he called.

Sophie poked her head out of her bedroom. "Where the  _hell_  were you?" she asked. "I called you like ten times!"

Jack pat down his pockets and gave her a sheepish grin. "Oops." He forgot his cell phone.

She sighed and motioned for him to join her. She was working on a sketch on a large pad. She said it was for homework. Jack sat on her bed, watching her on the floor. She grunted, adjusting the pad. She didn't have a lot of space in here. Her single bed actually took up a bit of space. Well, none of their bedrooms were very big, to be honest.

Sophie asked where he was, though she didn't worry. She knew he could take care of himself. As he told her, she listened intently, grinning like a fool. She found it hilarious and adorable and was scared that there were actually three little Jack Frosts running around.

He had hope that he might actually be able to land a job there. Maybe the triplets would escape again and they'd need Jack to look after them. He wouldn't mind if that was his only job. Getting paid to watch little Scottish devils. He actually would love it.

He asked Sophie about her day. She whined. Her art class was fun, but required a lot of close contact to her classmates. She liked… space. But sitting in a circle to draw some pots made her nervous. Especially when this really pretty and bubbly girl sat next to her. She talked  _non-stop_  and overwhelmed Sophie. She was super nice, but way too overbearing for Sophie's liking.

She also hated work. Too many people, too much talking, too much pressure. The manager assured her things would get easier, but Sophie didn't see how that was possible. By the end of every night, Sophie felt like she could cry.

Jack hugged her around the shoulders and shushed her. It would be okay. She could start looking for another job with less pressure. But she pointed out that she was actually making a lot of money. She wouldn't be able to make that if she worked anywhere else close by. Unless she because like an assistant or something, she wouldn't get a job.

So, she was stuck.

When Jamie got home, it was clear he was exhausted. School, then work. Sophie taught Jack how to cook a simple meal and it was waiting for him. Jamie complained, wishing Laura took up his offer for her to move in with them. She was so faaaar and he just wanted to cuddle.

But for the most part, school was going well for Jamie. It was going to be his last semester, finally. He was only held back for so long because of financial reasons. Maybe some book companies would take him seriously if he had a degree under his belt.

Jamie also got along with his coworkers. He told of this interesting one who like to invent things. He watched the boy fiddle with a pen and turn it into a rolling little man. Jamie was completely amazed by his abilities. And he was apparently a genius that graduated high school at sixteen. He was actually attending the same college Jamie was in.

Jack wished he could have so much social opportunities. He liked the books, he liked the owners, but they didn't talk much. He loved the DunBroch triplets. Lisa was hilarious. But he got most of his social interactions with Jamie and Sophie. He could be seen now. He didn't want to be invisible anymore.

Over the next few days, when Jack went to the bookstore, he'd pause at the fence of the daycare and look in. He'd catch glimpses of the boys. Sometimes they'd be pulling pranks or just off playing on their own. But Jack was happy to see they'd taken his advice on restricting their tricks.

Five days after they had met him in the bookstore, they were there again. This happened three times over the next week. Jack would rolled his eyes, laughed, and read them a picture book or a few children's poems before taking them back. Sometimes, he'd stop and pick up treats for the children of the daycare if Jamie or Sophie had given him money.

Lisa took them back and seemed much less stressed than before. "They just seemed to… ease up on everyone." she explained. "They're actually not that bad. They've been playing nice and even though they pull pranks, they're not bad. The other children laugh, too."

"Good!" Jack grinned, ruffling their hair.

"Jack, would you like to watch them again, today?" Lisa asked, adjusting Hubert in her arms.

Jack furrowed his brows. "They're not too much for you today, are they?"

Lisa shook her head. "No, no. Just… they listen to you. And you like them. And I think the other children would like you, too."

Other… children? "Wait, we get to play in the playroom?" Jack asked, bouncing on his toes. Lisa nodded. "Won't you get in trouble or something?"

Lisa shrugged. "I own this place. My rules. Here." Lisa put the boys back into Jack's arms. "Go knock yourself out."


	15. Chapter 15

September was crisp and Jack was happy to be able to wear a sweatshirt again. It was familiar and welcoming as opposed to the tee shirts and tank tops he had been wearing during the summer. It was still warm enough to wear long shorts. Jack still refused to wear any other shoes besides flip flops. His feet were dry, cracked, and bled from how often he stubbed himself on something, but he paid it no mind.

Sophie had played with his hair that had grown several inches. It would splay out in front of his eyes and he often had to brush it back. She seemed to like it, though. She said it looked good on him, so he didn't ask to get his hair cut.

Jack would often need to take the DunBroch triplets back to the daycare. They would actually  _follow_  him whenever they saw him pass the daycare. More often than not, Lisa would ask if he wanted to stay and play and he always took her up on the offer. Jack always had new games to play with them. Hundreds of years, he'd seen countless games from so many different cultures.

One night after a day of play, he walked home and flopped on the couch. Jamie was home. Sophie was at work. Jamie turned to him and furrowed his brows.

"Jack?"

"I think I got a job."

Jamie grinned and clapped him on the shoulder. "Awesome! Where?"

"ACJC."

"What?"

"The daycare. ACJC. Lisa told me to come back tomorrow and fill out paperwork." Jamie looked just as dumbfounded as Jack felt. "Even after I told her I was working on getting a green card, she insisted. She wants to put me on a payroll."

"… Really?"

Jack nodded. "The kids like me. She likes me. She thinks my games are fun and my stories are educational. I didn't think so, but I guess the tell morals or whatever. She doesn't have to expel the DunBroch kids and I can be there at least four times a week. Also, the triplets caused three of her employees to quit so she's be short staffed for a month and a half."

Jamie grinned brightly. "That's great, Jack!" Jack smiled and laughed a bit, still in complete shock. Jamie grabbed his arm and pulled him up. "Come on, get your shoes on, we're going to celebrate."

They went to Sophie's restaurant. They sat in her section and surprised her with the news. She was really happy and excited for him. She kissed him on the temple and brought him extra french fries with his meal.

Orientation wasn't exciting. He didn't expect it to be. Lisa had him sit in the back room where he spent the day filling out paperwork. He got some glares from older ladies, though he wasn't sure why. June gave him the stink eye, but he knew why she disliked him and only gave her a friendly smirk in return. Lisa took him around the center and explained the way things worked. It was much more complicated than Jack had expected.

Lisa admitted she had tried to find information on him. See if there was anything online. Maybe a social networking page, a news story, anything. There was absolutely nothing about Jack Frost aside from the fictional winter spirit. Jack laughed and told her it was because he  _was_  the winter spirit and he was very real, thank you. Lisa laughed and shrugged it off as a joke. She said she also tried Jackson Frost and still, nothing except for a man in his sixties that lived in Colorado.

That day, he didn't get to play with the children. After hours, Lisa went over everything and made she he knew what was expected of him. If he had any questions, ask.

His only question was if he really had to wear shoes. He did. And he had to wear sneakers.

… Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?

— — —

Jamie and Jack had the Saturday free. They spent it at the bookstore. The owners were actually happy Jamie was  _buying_  books, unlike his friend. Jack was referring him to some of the better ones he's read. Jack also tried to get Jamie to buy some picture books, but Jamie insisted he didn't have  _that_  much money to spend.

They sat at the tables, sipping coffee and hot cocoa. Jamie was reading through the summaries of some of the ones Jack picked. Jack was back to reading a book he needed to put down, but didn't buy.

Jamie peered over at him. Jack glanced over. "Hm?"

"… So… uh… you and Sophie…"

Jack felt the color drain from his face. Jamie's tone was… uncertain. Like he was nervous to bring it up. It was just like when someone says "we need to talk." It made him feel as if he had done something wrong. But he was sure he didn't. Right?

"What about me and Sophie?"

Jamie sighed and put the books down. Jack followed his example and sat upright. "What's going on?" Jamie spit out. "You guys are always so snuggly and that time you kissed before you lost your powers and the kisses I've seen after. Are you guys a thing? Why didn't either of you tell me? Sophie just tells me it's none of my business and not to ask you but, Jack. You're my best friend and she's my sister. I'd like to know these things."

Jack fidgeted. What could he say? Anything he said would be taken wrong. Or was it all just wrong, he just tried to make it sound right? Jack ran a hand down his face and groaned. "I just… I don't know." Jack started. Yes, great start. "I'm still trying to figure it out."

"Figure it out?" Jamie questioned.

"She… she loves me. That much I know." Jack replied feebly. "I just… I don't understand love."

Jamie nodded. That much he seemed to understand. The longer the conversation when on, the more Jack realized Jamie wasn't accusing him of anything. He just wanted to know. He didn't want to be left out of the loop.

"Who started it?" Jamie asked, sipping his coffee thoughtfully.

Jack smiled uneasily. "I did? Yeah. I did. We were talking about you and Laura and she was trying to explain love to me and I just kissed her. 'Cause it seemed like the right thing to do at the time."

"When?"

"Two years ago."

Jamie almost choked on his coffee. "This has been going on for two years and you still don't know what's going on?"

"Well… we didn't really…  _I_  didn't really think about it until Susan noticed something…. Sophie and I talked about it. We know something's going on but… I'm… not sure… what."

"Well, I guess it's best you didn't then." Jamie shook his head. "You were immortal and Sophie's clearly not. If you thought about it too much, things could have gotten complicated. But they're complicated now, right?"

Jack nodded. "I just… I've seen too much to really know what's the real thing. Too much information isn't always a good thing, despite what Bunny might tell you. He can make sense of everything. I just… it gets all jumbled up and it's always begging to be the truth but I don't know which one it is." Jack held his head. "There's just too much information on what love is and it's overwhelming. I don't Sophie I'd let her know when I figured it out, but when I try, my head just hurts and I don't want to do it anymore."

"Oh."

Jack pressed his palms into his eyes. "Your sister destroyed me, Jamie." he said bluntly. "I didn't care about love. Didn't even bother to think of it. It was a simple question to see what  _she_  thought. And… I don't know what happened. I want to be  _in love_  with her, but I don't know what love is. Because I never cared and when I sat down to think about it because of  _her_  I just… I can't make any sense, Jamie."

"Okay, okay! Calm down, Jack." Jamie waved his hands. "Really, don't blow up on me or anything. Seriously, it's okay. Whatever you're doing, she's happy."

Jack ran his hands down his face and leaned back in the chair. She might be happy, and he was happy when he was around her. But Jamie bringing it up now did  _not_  make him happy. He felt guilty. He wanted to give her an answer, he didn't want to keep her waiting, he didn't want to hurt her. And idea was just frustrating him and making his chest clench and his head hurt.

This is why he avoided romance novels. None of them really had a character in this position and none of them could sort out the confusion. They all just confused him even  _more_.

"Okay, I get it. Drink your hot chocolate." Jamie insisted. Jack complied, but it did nothing. "I just wanted to know what was going on and all you had to say was you were confused, Jack. I know you wouldn't intentionally hurt anyone. Jack, I'm not mad."

"I know." Jack pinched the bridge of his nose. "Jamie… what's your idea of love?" This was probably a bad idea. But he valued Jamie's opinion. Jamie was smart, cultured, and idealistic.

"I don't think you need any more knowledge in that head of yours." Jamie said making himself comfortable. "Honestly, I'm shocked you still remember everything from your time as Jack Frost. The human mind only has the capacity to remember so much."

Jack had not thought about that. He still recalled every moment, every second, every thought, every breath since he had been pulled from the pond in Burgess. How? He thought about his time as a human. Some of the lesser memories were fuzzy and muddled. The ones that held little meaning and were dull. … How could he not noticed he had forgotten them?

"My head hurts." Jack mumbled.

Jamie gave him an apprehensive sideways smile. "I'm sorry I made you think so much."

"You know… I'd like to give up eighteen years of memories from my time as Jack Frost. I'd give those up in a heartbeat to remember my life as Jackson Overland. I'd give up a hundred years of memories just to remember my sister's name. My mother's face. My father."

Jamie was silent. He crossed over and put a hand on Jack's shoulder, the look in his eyes showed pity. Pity Jack didn't want. He just wanted Jamie to know how he was feeling because that's what friends do, right? They tell each other everything. And since he was finally letting Jamie know about Sophie and himself, he just kept  _talking_.

"Sorry. The subject changed. Me and Sophie. Yeah, you tell me what's going on with us. I have no idea. I just don't want it to come between any of us because you're my friends and I love you guys."

Jamie laughed and shook his head. "After everything we've been through, I don't think anything can ruin our relationship with you."

"Even if I marry her to get citizenship?" Jack smirked playfully.

"I might actually kill you if that was the only reason." Jamie nodded certainly. "Yeah. The life Tsar Lunar gave you would have been for naught. It make it look like an accident, too. Throw you in front of a bus or a train or something."

"You're plotting my death already?!"

"You'll never see it coming."

"Then you'll lose your candidacy for Guardianship. MiM sees all. You'll never make it into the Immortal life." Jack stood up and folded his hands behind his head, smirking.

"For Sophie, I'd do anything." Jamie stood up and swung a swift uppercut to Jack's chest. Jack feigned deep pain and stumbled back, groaning.

"Oh, my solar plexus!"

"Jack. Shoes."

Jamie and Jack both turned to one of the owners. A spry gentleman in his sixties. He had thick round glasses and a bowtie that he straightened when the boys looked to him. Jack glanced to his bare feet. Oops. He was constantly reminded that he had to wear his shoes in here. Why did every place need  _shoes_?

"Sorry Mr. Killigan." Jack slipped his flip flops on and gave the gentleman a thumbs up. He chuckled and turned from him, back to the shelves he was arranging.

"Come on, put your book back." Jamie flicked his nose. "Let's go bug Sophie at work."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit short. But finally Jamie confronts Jack and well, sorry if you were expecting a brawl. XD Jamie knows Jack better than anyone and knows he doesn't mean any harm.
> 
> I'm really excited for the upcoming arch of this story. dfjaklfal It's gonna be so much fun.
> 
> Also, Jack's probably not gonna realize he's in love until someone slaps him (literally or figuratively) in the face and tells him so. I do know who's gonna do that, too. That's gonna be a fun chapter.
> 
> And this chapter has a little angst that will later be expanded upon, I promise! Man, I just have a lot of ideas.


	16. Chapter 16

Jamie was slowly starting to hate his job. He had been working it for two and a half months and all formalities had faded between the coworkers. At first, they were kind. They treated him nicely, explained things when he had questions, respected him like the adult he was. But then they dropped the he's-the-new-guy routine and treated him like a kid. Like he didn't belong.

But Jamie didn't care because when he tried to join in on their conversations or down time, they were just  _so boring_! Jamie didn't even remember what they would discuss because they drawled on and on about whatever the hell it was and when he tried to liven things up, they would stare at him like he had three heads. Why were all of his coworkers so  _old_?!

And the customers. OH GOD the customers! Because he was young, they assumed he knew jack shit. They thought they were right even though Jamie was absolutely certain they were wrong and he was trying to explain how a certain piece of equipment worked. No, sir, if you do that you'll chop your finger off! See? Sharp!

Ugh.

The only thing that made working at this office supplies store any worthwhile was Harald. Harald and the money it brought in. Harald was a seventeen year old genius. He was shorter than Jack, probably weighed ninety pounds, but quick witted and already in college. He had been attending the same college Jamie did as an Engineering major for two years.

When Jamie first spoke to him, the kid was shocked Jamie had even seen him. He was relatively invisible to everyone. Which meant he avoided scorn from their coworkers. But that also meant his awesomeness wasn't received by his father.

Daddy issues. Yikes.

But Jamie was impressed. Harald showed him some videos of some of his inventions. Jamie let him know just how cool his work really was. Jamie wouldn't be surprised if this kid turned out to be the next Tesla. He was going to ring in the next generation of technology, even if nobody say it yet.

Harald was also interested in hearing about Jamie's life. How his sister was a master artist whom he was certain would become famous for her work, preferably before she died unlike most artists. How his fiancée was only the most awesome person anyone could ever meet because she was just a perfect human being and stop looking at me like that you just gotta meet her, okay? And how his best friend moved here from Canada and was still an illegal alien but shush we're fixing that.

Sometimes when they closed shop, Jamie would offer Harald a ride home. His father would either forget to pick him up or Harald told him not to. He still couldn't drive, but Harald insisted he would be fine on his own. He refused Jamie's offer and would walk down the street.

Once, Jamie tried to follow him, just to make sure he got home okay. The kid was small and probably couldn't fight his way out of a paper bag. He just wanted to make sure he would get home safe. But when he turned a corner to see where he went, the boy vanished.

Jamie noticed that Harald sometimes didn't answer when he called. As if he didn't remember his own name. He figured out why that was one night when his father came to pick him up.

Harald's father was… massive. Polar opposite of what Harald was. He was muscular, manly, and very hairy. Jack wondered what the man did for a living (if it had anything to do with how awesome his beard was, Jamie wanted that job). He was actually very intimidating. Jamie only dared to stare at him when he knew he was out of sight.

"Hiccup, are you done?"

"Yeah, Dad. Just got to punch out."

… Hiccup?  _Hiccup_?! Jamie had to stop himself from laughing. It was rude and he didn't want Harald to think he was a jerk and not talk to him like their other coworkers did. What kind of nickname was Hiccup?

Jamie followed Harald to the back and he must have been making a face because Harald rolled his eyes. He explained that it was a nickname his mother came up with while he was a baby. He got the hiccups a lot or something and thought it was cute. His dad never fully explained it, but it didn't matter.  _Everyone_  called him Hiccup. Family, friends, teachers, just… people in general. They always found out this nickname one way or another. They'd hear it from someone or he'd accidentally introduce himself as Hiccup. Sometimes, he thought his legal name was Hiccup.

So, from then on, Jamie called Harald Hiccup and the boy didn't so much as flinch. Hiccup felt better to say than Harald anyway. And somehow, he looked more like a Hiccup.

Jamie was thankful he was growing close to Hiccup. Work was made so much more bearable for the both of them. They met up at school often and Jamie got to introduce him to his friends. Even if Hiccup didn't fit in well with them, Jamie did his best to include him. Hiccup was an intellectual and Jamie's friends were… well, probably not the best influence for the young mind.

One day, Jamie's car broke. At least, that was what his diagnosis was. It wouldn't start, there was a full tank of gas, and the engine was smoking the last time he used it. He was thankful his car didn't blow up, but he wasn't worried about that. No, he was worried he wasn't going to get to class on time. Sophie had already left for school. The bus wouldn't get him to his class on time.

He called Hiccup and begged for a ride. Hiccup was more than happy to offer one. Jamie and Jack walked to the office store to meet him there, Jack wanting something to do before work. He also was interested in meeting this Hiccup and Jamie had to punch his arm whenever the boy said his name because all he could do was snicker.

Hiccup pulled up in a truck with his father. Jamie bid his friend goodbye and climbed into the bench seat, thanking Stoick for the ride. Jamie waved to Jack but the boy was distracted by something. His eyes were wide, he was grinning and he backed up, shielding his eyes from the sun. Was there something in the sky?

"See you, Jack!" Jamie called out the open window. Jack jumped in surprise and waved as they drove off. In the rearview, he went back to searching for something in int he sky.

Jamie wondered what it was he saw and thought maybe perhaps it was something Jamie was unable to. He peered up and saw nothing.

"Your friend couldn't give you a ride?" Hiccup asked casually.

Jamie shrugged. "He hates cars. Can't drive. He gets sick on long car rides. Besides, he won't be getting his license for a while."

"Oh, he the Canadian." Hiccup figured. Jamie nodded. "If you want, I can take a look at your car after school."

Jamie's eyes went wide and he twisted to grab Hiccup's arm, pleading. "Really? Please, please, please, can you?"

Hiccup laughed and assured him he could fix the vehicle. Awesome! Because he didn't want to bum rides from his sister all the time. Or Hiccup. Or take public transportation because man, that would totally suck.

After classes, they met up and Sophie picked them up. She was nervous and stiff with the strange boy in the car. There was a lot of awkward in the air that Jamie tried to quell since he knew his sister had no idea how to talk to new people.

Well, the ride was pretty awkward. Jamie's attempts at easing the situation didn't work. Hiccup seemed to actually be in the same boat as Sophie, so it was basically just Jamie yammering on the whole time.

Jamie and Hiccup took a look at his car. Well, Hiccup did. Jamie helped out. He was lucky enough to have received a tool kit one year for Christmas from his grandfather. He never learned how to use any of the tools, but that's what roommates were for, right? And now none of his roommates knew anything about fixing anything.

Jamie was so lucky to have made friends with Hiccup.

Around seven, Jack stopped to pester them. He had gotten home from work and cracked joke, but actually helped out when Hiccup asked for a tool.

Hiccup pulled himself out from under the car and dusted himself off. He explained what parts needed replacing and he knew a good place to get them. Jack dragged Sophie with them on the trip to the hardware store. Hiccup asked Jamie in a whisper if they were dating. Jamie could see why, they just… had this air about them.

While Jamie and Hiccup talked to a clerk about parts, Jack and Sophie messed around with the some of the merchandise. Jamie rolls his eyes when one of the pressurized contraptions puffed air at them and Jack lifted Sophie onto his shoulder, running from it.

"It's a dragon! Run awaaay!"

Hiccup eyed the two before looking at the thingamabob. His interested was piqued at the mention of a dragon. Jamie briefly wondered if Hiccup was interested in dragons.

Jamie bought the parts and they went back to their apartment. Once the parts were installed, Jamie embraced the boy tightly, thanking him over and over again. He insisted that he stayed for dinner and offered him the bathroom to wash up in.

Jamie fed him, thanked him a million times and offered to drive him home. Hiccup waved his hand and said he'd be fine on his own. But… it was late. And dark. And he'd a scrawny boy. And how far did he live? But Hiccup asserted that he would be just fine and left.

Jamie was beginning to wonder about him… Was there something he didn't want Jamie seeing? Maybe he lived in a cardboard box. Nah, he was too clean for that. But still, Jamie worried a bit for his young friend.

What was he hiding?

— — —

Sophie didn't dislike her classes. She didn't dislike school. What she did dislike was how little space her classes actually offered. The art program was small, so they were given small rooms and small desks and just everything was so close together. She felt claustrophobic in her art history classroom. She felt pressed together in her drawing class. She felt so tiny in her English class because of the sheer amount of students in it. And she felt trapped in her art theory class.

Three out of four classes she happened to share with one girl. This girl recognized her and sat herself next to Sophie for familiarity reasons. Sophie didn't NOT like her. She was just so…  _overwhelming_. She was like ten people in one and was so bubbly and so  _pretty_  she just intimidated Sophie.

A girl with short brown hair and big-big green eyes. She had a round face and a bright smile. She was petite and wore dresses a lot. She just held a lot of  _wonder_  for everything. Some parts of the girl reminded Sophie of North. Others reminded her of Toothiana. The rest were just  _way too much_  for Sophie to handle.

And she just didn't seem to get it. She was nice to Sophie and she talked and talked. Sophie actually forgot her name, but she remembered Sophie's. She thought it started with an R but she wasn't certain.

One day, the professor was asking for volunteers. He wanted to paint a mural in the main building but needed help. Sophie's hand instantly shot up. She was familiar with volunteer work and she absolutely loved it. She frequently visited the hospital in Burgess to entertain the children there. It was much easier dealing with the children's ward than any of the others. She actually painted a mural in the pediatrics burn ward last year.

Sophie became nervous when the girl also volunteered. The next few days between classes, Sophie and the girl would meet with the professor and discuss what the mural was about. They sketched out an idea and got to work.

Oh, and her name was Rapunzel.

Sophie and Rapunzel were often left alone together while the professor went to teach class. The brunette looked so happy and excited as she painted.

"I'm soooo glad we're doing this!" she squealed. "I ran out of room to paint in my room and I didn't want to paint over it again. I've had to repaint my room four times already. I just like painting walls, okay?"

Sophie snorted a bit and smiled at her. Even though she scared Sophie, Sophie was never mean or ignored her. She'd reply quietly and and shyly and made small comments to keep her talking. If Sophie didn't have to respond, that was perfect. She didn't mind listening.

"Did I ever tell you how much I love your hair?" Rapunzel commented offhandedly. She reached over and ran a hand through it. Sophie smiled. Who didn't like when people played with their hair? "My hair used to be this color. It was really long and blonde. I never cut my hair once! Except this year on my birthday. It was time for a change!"

"Did you dye it?" Sophie asked.

"No." Rapunzel sighed forlornly. "The older I got, the browner it got. And long brown hair isn't as pretty as long blonde hair. So, I cut it all off!"

"I think you're hair looks nice." Sophie admitted. "I like it like this."

Rapunzel embraced Sophie. Oh, god. Bad idea, Sophie. Strange girl hugging you. Nerves. Don't think. Hug her back, there you go! Good job! Maybe you'll make a friend!

When the girl pulled back, Sophie let out a breath of relief. She ran a hand through her own hair. "I had pretty long hair, too. From the time I was eight until I was eighteen, I didn't cut it. It was really long. Like… here?" she motioned around her hips.

"Mine reached the floor," Rapunzel said casually.

T-The floor!? Holy crap! How did she keep it healthy? How did it not frizz? WOW that sounds crazy! And Sophie thought her hair was long before!

"So… er… you took your name literally, huh?" Sophie chuckled a bit, nervous. She thought of the fairy tale of the princess that could bring her prince to the top of the tower with her long locks.

"My parents always called me their princess." Rapunzel shrugged. She quickly changed the subject to murals. Sophie was a bit caught off guard. Maybe there was something Rapunzel didn't want to get into. Sophie was fine with that, they weren't all that close. Actually, they weren't close at all. Rapunzel just stuck with her.

Well, three classes together was nice, Sophie had to admit. At least she was familiar with  _someone_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay~ Big Four is being introduced! This is gonna be real fun! First arch is Hiccup. Since I have his pretty much planned out. I have Punzel's, too, but that's gonna wait! I have no idea for Merida, though. I'll think of something.


	17. Chapter 17

Jack's favorite kids quickly became the DunBroch children. He tried not to show favoritism, but it was hard when they were always put on him. None of the other employees could deal with them, and Jack was pretty sure the triplets did that on purpose.

Jack had also been getting to know their older sister. Her name was Merida. She was a senior in high school and went to the archery range every day after school. She also went horseback riding, but hadn't done it in ages. Since they moved to Hillside. Her family packed up from Scotland just last spring because her father was expanding his business to America.

She would tell him snippets about her life when she came to pick the boys up. He'd tell her about how  _awesome_  her brothers were. She admitted she was starting to believe that he was serious about it. When he offered to take them off her hands on his day off, she actually thought he was joking.

"No way. I want to have a play date. There's some things I'd like to show them and some games we can play."

"A play date? Really?"

"Yeah!"

"… I'll talk to Mum and Dad."

Jack was excited. One thing about giving up being Jack Frost was that he could play with  _every_ child. Not just the ones that believed. He couldn't cover as much ground as before, but as long as he was able to make any child smile, that was all he could ask for.

"This Saturday, Hiccup's coming over." Jamie announced one day over lunch. "His dad is throwing some kind of sports party, but he wanted to work on a project. They always give him judgmental looks or something, so I invited him to come over and work on it."

"Oh." Sophie poked her food and bit her lip. "Um… Rapunzel is coming over, too."

"I thought she terrified you," Jack chuckled.

"She does." Sophie squeaked. "It was kind of… accidental?"

"How do you accidentally invite someone to your house?" Jamie laughed.

"Shut up!" she punched her brother's arm. "We're painting the spare room. We had fun doing the mural, so we're going to brighten this place up, too. It's just so… white."

True. The whole apartment had been painted white. The wooden floors and Sophie's paintings were the only reprieve. They could use some color.

"Then DunBroch kids are coming over. I'm going to try and get Merida to play with us." Jack grinned. "I don't think she spends enough quality time with her brothers. Like how a certain someone used to be." Jack nudged Jamie. Jamie rolled his eyes. While Jamie might make jokes about how annoying his sister was and how they hated each other, they didn't and anyone could see that they were best friends.

"How's our apartment going to fit so many people?" Jamie pondered.

"I'm taking them outside. You guys will be busy, we'll just play in the courtyard. The leaves are falling, so it'll be fun!"

Saturday came around and Hiccup was the first to arrive around noon. Jamie welcomed him into the living room, pushing furniture out of the way. When Hiccup spread out his contraption, Jack whistled, impressed. It looked like a wing of some sort. Hiccup explained it was only a piece of a machine he was building. He just needed to get it to work on it's own.

Jamie put on a movie as background noise. Sophie was setting up the spare room, laying tarp down and setting up paints. Jack was grabbing snacks. Half an hour later, Rapunzel showed up. She was early and Sophie stiffly and nervously invited her in.

Rapunzel was deeply interested in what Hiccup was building. She questioned what it was, what it did, what it was for. Hiccup didn't even have time to answer any questions through the barrage. He settled on "It's a thing that does stuff." and she seemed satisfied.

Sophie introduced her brother and Jack. At Jack's name, Rapunzel was taken aback. She blinked and waved it off, shaking hands and flashing a dazzling smile. Something about this girl was really familiar. Jack couldn't put his finger on it.

Rapunzel pulled a small lizard from her satchel. "I hope you don't mind I brought Pascal!" she grinned. Sophie was intrigued. She never saw a chameleon before. Rapunzel set the lizard into her hands and Jack was actually certain he was eyeing Sophie suspiciously before she rubbed the top of his head.

Hiccup noticed. He commented on how Pascal had a big personality like another reptile he knew. Rapunzel got really excited. He should have brought his lizard! They could have had a play date! Hiccup chuckled and assured her maybe next time.

The girls got to work Hiccup continued his tinkering. Jamie tried to understand exactly what it was Hiccup was working on, but the boy was vague. Jack was preparing for the day ahead.

Merida arrived around one with the boys. Jack introduced them and Rapunzel doted on them and told them how cute they were. Merida made a face and warned her to stay away. Rapunzel thought she was joking. Jack tried to get Merida to come outside with them. He did. She was stubborn, though, and insisted she was going home.

Until Rapunzel suggested she hung out with her and Sophie. Merida tried to refuse, but Rapunzel was not having it. Rapunzel and Sophie had music playing and paints everywhere and Merida said she wasn't an artist but there was no stopping Rapunzel from getting her way.

…. How?

Jack shook his head and took the boys out to play. They climbed the trees and shook leaves out of branches before brining them into a pile and throwing them in the air. Jack was slowly learning their language. It didn't help when they weren't going to try and teach him. He learned from observing. They were actually happy he was learning, though.

Then, Jack spotted something. There was… something on the roof of the building. It was black and  _massive_. It took him a moment to realize was it was.

"… Do you guys see that?"

The boys stopped and followed his gaze. They clamored on his head and shoulders to get a better look. Just…  _wow_!

Jack scooped up a handful of pebbles and counted windows before throwing them at his own. "JAMIE! SOPHIE!" Jack threw the stones until Jamie opened the window.

"WHAT!?"

"COME DOWN HERE! YOU GUYS GOTTA SEE THIS! YOU'RE NOT GONNA BELIEVE IT!"

"What is it, Jack?" Jamie called, shaking his head.

"JUST GET YOUR BUTTS DOWN HERE!"

Jamie closed the window and Jack kept an eye on the creature. Jamie, Sophie, Hiccup, Rapunzel, and Merida were soon outside. Jack pulled Jamie and Sophie back and pointed to the roof.

"Look, look!" Jack bounce, grinning excitedly. "It's a dragon!"

"A dragon?" Jamie squinted to see. It took the siblings a moment to focus. Sophie screamed and backed up into Jack. Jack laughed and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"It's called a Night Fury. Its the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself." Jack laughed, looking to the triplets. "It's so weird to see a dragon in the city! They like volcanos and countrysides. You know, seclusion."

"Wait a second." Hiccup turned to him. "You can see him?!"

Jack's eyes widened. What? " _You_  can—WHOAH!" Suddenly the dragon lept from the roof and onto the ground. Sophie screamed again and jumped away, trying to get as far back from the creature as possible. Jamie was uneasy, backing away slowly. Merida and Rapunzel looked to each other, confused and clearly unable to see the dragon that had landed so close to them.

The dragon growled and stepped towards Jack. Uh-oh. Jack yelled out, the triplets scattered and he was suddenly pinned under a mass of black, nose-to-nose with the creature.

"Oh. It's you." Jack grinned awkwardly. Yes, he recognized this particular dragon. "Long time no see."

The dragon roared in his face. Jack winced. "Hey, hey! You wouldn't eat a defenseless guy, would you?" The dragon pressed close to his face. Oh boy. Jack flipped himself over and turned to scramble away. His hood was snatched and he yelled as he was lifted into the air. Screams erupted around him, but they were muted by the beating of the dragons wings and they landed on top of a tree.

"Look! I don't have magic anymore! I'm just a regular guy! You don't have to hurt me!" Jack choked, pulling his shirt and hoodie away from his throat.

"Toothless!" the dragon stopped and looked towards the ground. Hiccup stood strong, pointing at the dragon. "Toothless, no! Put him down!"

"Toothless?" Jack breathed out. What?

The dragon sat back on the branch and released Jack. Jack yelled out, hitting every branch on the way and landed on the ground, grunting in pain. Ouch. That hurt. That really hurt. Three hudred years of falling out of the sky? No big deal. Falling out of a tree? Damn, that hurt.

"Jack!" Sophie and Jamie were quickly by his side helping him up. "Jack, are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine, Sophie." Jack pulled his shirt up to inspect his ribs. Oh yeah, those were going to bruise. "It my fault." He raised his voice to the dragon. "It wasn't anything personal!"

"Jack, what did you do?" Jamie urged.

"I—"

"You can really see him?" Jack looked to Hiccup and furrowed his brows as he stood up.

" _You_  can see him?"

"Wait, wait, how can you see him? No one can see him! Do you guys see him?" Hiccup asked, looking from Jamie to Sophie. They nodded apprehensively just as the dragon landed behind Hiccup. He was still glaring at Jack. Hiccup turned to Merida and Rapunzel. "Can you see him?"

"What the  _bloody hell_  is going on?!" Merida screeched, exasperated. Rapunzel was holding herself, shaking and eyes wide. They had no idea what just happened, clearly. And maybe it was a good idea they couldn't see the dragon.

"I think we just met Hiccup's lizard." Jack said flatly.

"How can you see Toothless?" Hiccup exclaimed.

"Well, uh… the Night Fury and I have a bit of a history but I'm more concerned about the fact that you've  _named a dragon and put a saddle on him_!"

"What history?"

"How did you tame a dragon?"

"This is getting us nowhere." Jamie sighed. He was right. They both wanted answers but neither were giving them until they received their own.

"They can see him because they believe in him." Jack explained.

"Is that how it works?" Hiccup asked and put a hand on the dragon's snout. "He can be seen if people believe in him?"

"Yes, which is why they can't see him." He motioned to Merida and Rapunzel. The two slowly edged closer. Sophie beckoned them after she realized they were safe. They stood with Jamie and Sophie and Jack stepped closer to Hiccup. "They don't believe in him."

"What about you?" Hiccup questioned.

Jack rubbed his forehead. "I inadvertently destroyed his nest twice. I didn't mean to. It was totally not personal and he wasn't the only one effected. But you know dragons." The dragon… Toothless growled. "Easy, easy." Jack raised his hands in surrender. "I can't destroy your home anymore! I don't have the power anymore. See?"

"The power?" Hiccup scowled.

"Your turn, Hiccup. How did…" Jack motioned vaguely. " _This_  happen." The boy looked up and saw the triplets sitting in the saddle. Toothless paid them no mind which struck Jack as so odd. Dragons were prideful.

"I trained him." Hiccup said frankly.

"So he's your pet?"

"No!" Hiccup waved his arms defensively. "He's my companion. My best friend."

"Dragon, dragon… What the hell is going on?!" Merida demanded stepping forward. "Jack Frost, if this is a trick, I swear—"

"It's not a trick." Jack expression made her falter. He was serious. "Look, it's probably not something you'll be able to understand. Legends, Myths, and Immortals… you consider them all stories. Being as old as you are now, it'd be impossible to see the dragon that's standing right in front of you. You'll pass right through him. He doesn't exist to you. He exists to your brothers because they're so young and they can believe anything. He exists to Jamie and Sophie because when I say something exists  _they know_  it's real."

"And how is he real to you?" Hiccup crossed his arms.

"Look, that doesn't matter." Jack waved it off. "My point is, neither you nor Rapunzel will be able to see him. You're too old. You don't believe in fairy tales anymore."

Rapunzel was quiet. Sophie took her arm and asked if she was alright. Pascal sat on her shoulder and poked her face, vying for her attention. She was staring at Jack and Hiccup in complete disbelief. Her green eyes darted from Jack to the giant reptile and she stepped back tentatively.

"… You can't see him… can you?" Jack asked.

The girl slowly nodded. But… how? Merida looked around in disbelief.

"No, seriously, what is going on? Jack, how did you… how did that… Wait, where are the boys? BOYS?!" They popped up from behind Toothless's haunches. She stared. Her expression unreadable. "There's… there's really a dragon there, isn't there?"

The boys nodded with mischievous grins. The red-head considered them. "Like will-o-the-wisp?" They nodded. "Mor'du?" They shook their heads. Wait, who? Jack had heard of the will-o-the-wisp. But what was this Mor'du she was talking about?

She took a deep breath. Closed her eyes. Opened them.

The fiery girl was soon meeting the dragon's gaze and she covered her mouth. "Boys, that's just like Mor'du!"

Toothless's eyes widened and he sat back. He actually looked… kind of cute. Like a puppy that didn't know what he did wrong but was still getting in trouble. … Maybe this reptile wasn't as bad as Jack thought he was. When he looked like that, it was easy to see how Hiccup was able to train him.

"What is Mor'du?" Jamie asked.

Merida pushed her hair out of her face. "It's nothing. Boys, get off that dragon."

"He's not going to hurt them." Hiccup informed her.

"They don't eat humans if that's what you're worried about," Jack tilted back on his heels. "They like fish."

"They don't like eels." Hiccup added.

"This is just too weird." Rapunzel held her head. Sophie rubbed her back soothingly. The brunette looked to her lizard. "This is weird right? Or are you his cousin?" Pascal blinked and shook his head. No, Rapunzel. I'm not related to a dragon.

Jack chuckled and turned back to Hiccup. "I still want to know how you trained a dragon."

"And I want to know this history between you two."

"Sounds like story time to me!" Jamie came forward. "Man, you guys are in for a ride."


	18. Chapter 18

The six of them sat in a circle under a tree. Harris, Hubert, and Hamish were playing with a large black dragon, chasing it around the courtyard. It would bat at them playfully and throw them into the air before catching them. The dragon, Toothless, was very gentle with them. Which surprised Jack more then he could put into words. He was used to veering off from this monster that shot white hot plasma at him. It would chase him for days until it wore itself out or Jack escaped to a much colder region.

A boy with auburn hair was the center of attention. He was clearly uncomfortable with this, but, seriously, it was  _his_ dragon,  _he_  had weird stuff going on. Never mind that the brunette boy sitting across from him was just as weird.

Hiccup rubbed his forehead. "I grew up in a rural town. Nights were always dark. You could see all the stars and the moon. It was nice. I'd sit outside with my mom on nights when the stars shined their brightest and she'd tell me stories of Vikings and dragons. We'd watch the stars and I'd always see this… this dark mass blot out them out. It would streak across the sky and sometimes shoot what looked like lightning.

"I always imagined that blot was a dragon. I loved dragons as a kid. Especially after my Mom died. They reminded me of her. I used to be terrified of her stories. She always made sure they had happy endings, though. The dragons scared me, but after she was gone… they didn't seem so scary.

"When I was fourteen, I still believed that blot across the stars was a dragon. I don't know why. But it was like still believing in Santa." Jack, Sophie, and Jamie snorted. It brought them looks and Jack insisted that he just kept going and he'd explain. Hiccup shook his head and continued. "When I was fourteen, I told myself I'd capture that dragon. For my mom. I built a sling and shot it. It snagged the dragon! I went to investigate.

"The dragon was there. He was trapped in my net. He looked… terrifying. But he was  _real_. I knew it. All of my life, I just knew it! Dragons really did exist! I was terrified he was going to kill me if I let him go but… I looked into his eyes and… he was just as scared as I was. So, I freed him.

"He didn't kill me. Even though he had every reason so, every opportunity, he didn't kill me. I followed him. He wasn't… he wasn't flying for some reason." Jack looked towards the dragon. He hadn't noticed it before, what with being dragged around like a ragdoll. There was a contraption strapped to his tail to make up for the fin that was gone. "When I captured him, I injured his tail irreparably. After I gained his trust, I created a prosthetic. But the only way he can really use it is if I control it."

"You haven't figured out a way he can use it on his own?" Jamie raised and eyebrow, shocked. From what Jamie said, Hiccup was a mechanical genius. He was able to MacGyver anything given to him. There had to be a way for the boy to make a tail fin that worked on it's own.

"Oh, no, I have." Hiccup leaned back on his arms, looking towards Toothless. "The second model is upstairs. He destroyed the first one that I gave him for Christmas last year." A fond smile crossed Hiccup's lips. "He prefers to ride _with_  me."

"You really made friends with a dragon…" Merida said breathlessly.

"Yeah," Hiccup rubbed the back of his head. "But I'm building another because… what if something happens to me? What if he outlives me? I have no idea how long dragons live for. Someday, he's not going to have me. I want to make sure he's okay on his own."

"They… they live forever." Jack said, tracing a snowflake in the dirt. "I don't know how long your prosthetic will last. But I don't think it'll be forever. Unless you're willing to stand before Thor and Hel as ask for them to repair him. They created him."

"Norse gods? You're not serious." Hiccup raised his brows.

Jack snorted. "You believe in dragons, but you don't believe in Norse mythology. Or Santa."

"That's different. They can't be real." Hiccup shook his head. "There's no possible way."

Jamie and Sophie looked from each other, to Jack and back to Hiccup. "We've met Santa." Jamie said. "He throws a Christmas party every year with Jack Frost, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and Sandman. We've been going for about ten years now."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Okay, you don't have to make fun of me."

"They aren't joking." Jack stated firmly. "Nicholas St. North. Queen Toothiana. E. Aster Bunnymund. Sanderson Mansnoozie. They're real. They're all real."

"And you're telling me you're  _actually_  Jack Frost?" Hiccup snorted, rolling his eyes.

"… The reason Toothless doesn't like me is because I've brought  _very_  harsh blizzards to the area he was nesting in. It destroyed half the landscape, including his home. Once in 1790 and again in 1932. Like I said, it wasn't personal."

Hiccup stopped and considered him. He sat sat upright and now all eyes were on Jack. Sophie reached over and took his hand and he squeezed it. He wasn't sure where to start. The ending? The beginning? Somewhere in the middle?

"They're real." Jack swallowed hard. "All of them are real. Every legend, every myth, every folktale, every so-called god. Unicorns, fairies, dragons. All of them are real. They're created when stories form. Sometimes, anyway. Sometimes, they make their own legends. The Man in the Moon creates them." Jack looked up. The sky was bright and sunny. Not a cloud in sight.

"I'm not from Canada. I'm from Burgess. I was born and raised there in 1694. I had a little sister. And on December 21, 1711 I gave my life to save hers. Though… when I woke up from my very short sleep, I didn't know. I had no idea just a few hours prior, I saved the life of a young girl. The Man in the Moon created me. I didn't know why. I didn't exactly have a purpose and, let's face it, winter isn't everyone's favorite season. Especially when there's no electric heating to fend off the cold.

"Three hundred years later, I was finally given a purpose. It took three hundred years to remember  _why_  he chose me. I was chosen to protect the children. And I did a great job while I was able to but… I gave it up." Jack shrugged. "The reasons are too complicated to explain right now. But I'm mortal now."

Hiccup was deep in thought. Merida was watching her brothers and Toothless idly, taking everything in. Rapunzel's expression was much harder to read. Was that… shock? Jack wondered what they were thinking. Compared to them, Jack, Jamie, and Sophie were just told they had a pleasant stroll in the part. Nothing could really surprise those two.

"Dragons… Jack Frost… this is all real." Merida muttered.

"Well, Jack Frost isn't anymore." Jack shrugged.

"You  _are_  Jack Frost. Doesn't matter if you were or not. You still are." Merida pressed.

Jack sighed and turned himself to lay on Sophie's lap. "What a weird day this turned out to be, huh? The next thing we're going to hear is that Bunny came early."

"Jack, you'd like if Bunny came early. Don't deny it." Jamie smirked.

"As if I'd ever miss the Easter Kangaroo." Jack rolled his eyes.

"I miss him." Sophie said, looking up and frowning. She idly stroked his hair.

"He's your favorite Guardian, of course you would." Jack sighed. He turned to Hiccup. "So… you seem to know a lot about dragons."

Hiccup shrugged. "I found a book."

Jack furrowed his brows. "A book?"

"I mean, it's in Old Norse, but I translated it." Hiccup explained casually. Like it was the easiest thing in the world.

Jack sat up. "You translated Old Norse?" Even Jack had trouble with that. He had given up on the Icelandic language pretty fast. It was too confusing for him.

"It took me two years, but yeah." Hiccup rolled his eyes. "The one thing I did my Dad told me he was proud of. He liked that I was 'embracing our Viking heritage.'"

"I told you guys he was a genius, didn't I?" Jamie chuckled. Hiccup rubbed the back of his head modestly.

"Ugh," Merida rolled her eyes. "Your Dad sounds like me Mum. 'Act more lady-like,' 'no weapons on the table,' 'you should pull your hair out of your face.' I tell her I shot a Robin Hood and she says, 'That's nice, dear.' Doesn't even give me a glance."

"Parents, huh?" Hiccup groaned.

"Tell me about it."

Jack wasn't going to say anything. At least they were lucky enough to remember them. Jack had faint memories of a woman scolding him and a man telling him how proud he was. He thought he imagined the memory of arms wrapped around his young self to keep him safe.

They didn't realize how very lucky they were.

"Where did you find this book?" Jack asked, settling back down on Sophie's lap. He needed to quickly change the subject. The girl above him offered an understanding smile.

Hiccup furrowed his brows. "I think it was near Norway. I'm not sure. Toothless flew me there. There was this small island with ruins. The book was in a cave. Somehow it survived. It's amazing… I don't understand how. But it had all these drawings of dragons and I was sure it was a Dragon Guide. And I was right. After I translated it, it told me everything I needed to know about dragons. Except for Toothless. There was one dragon that had no image, no information. Except a name: Night Fury. I only had to assume that's what Toothless was because there was nothing to the contrary."

"You got yourself a hell of a dragon, let me tell you." Jack chuckled.

"I know," Hiccup beamed proudly. His smile faded and he picked at a hole in his jeans. "You know… this can't be a coincidence. Us meeting. It's just… It's too…"

"Fated?" Merida offered.

"Yeah. Something like that." Hiccup nodded.

"Because it's not a coincidence." Jack sat up and stretched. "Mortals that have a strong tie with the Immortal realm are usually brought together. You and Jamie met because he's been immersed in my world since he was eight and you have a dragon. Because you guys were in close range, you were brought together.

"Magic sticks when you come in contact with it. It sticks for a few days at the most, depending on the exposure. Jamie and Sophie will probably have it for a few more months. Maybe a year. It'll probably stick to you for as long as you have Toothless. Though, depending on what you come across, if it leaves a strong impression, it can stick around for much longer. Like if you've been attacked or it changes your life.

"But magic is attracted to magic. Like a magnet. It doesn't work with Immortals and Legends. But mortals. If you're close, you're going to meet. It might be briefly, it might be lasting. You might just bump into each other on the street."

Jack noticed Merida and Rapunzel stiffen. He furrowed his brows. "… Have… you guys…?"

Merida hesitated. She chewed her lip as she watched her brothers. "Just… I've followed the will-o-the-wisps. They've appeared to me often. Not since I've moved here, though." The girl shrugged. "There's not much nature to be in tune with. At least in this area."

Jack wasn't sure if that was really enough to imprint lasting magic on Merida. There was clearly something she wasn't telling them. He wasn't going to press on. If she didn't want to tell them, she didn't have to. Jack met Jamie's gaze and he gave a slight nod. They were thinking the same thing. Good.

Jack looked to Rapunzel. Maybe she didn't have a story. She held her ankles and shifted her weight. "Um…" she scratched her cheek. "When I was a little girl, I was lost in the woods in the dead of winter. I was scared, it was dark, and I was alone. There was a boy… with white hair and a kind smile." Jack quickly sat up. He thought she looked familiar! "He took my hand and said we were going to have some fun. Suddenly, I wasn't scared anymore. We played tag. And before I knew it, I was out in the street and a car stopped and they took me home."

"You called yourself Flower."

Rapunzel met his gaze. "Y-Yeah!" She grinned, scooting closer. "You really were Jack Frost! I knew it!" She laughed, clutching her hands to her chest.

"You were blonde." Jack pointed out.

"You had blue eyes." She threw back.

Jack chuckled, remembering the scene. A small girl, no older than six, wandering the forest all on her own. He was passing by and saw her through the trees. He flew down and watched for a little to see what she was up to. When he saw the tears in those big green eyes, he knew she was lost. He approached her, wondering if she could see him.

She could. She screamed and ran away from him. Jack quickly chased her and took her by the hand. In one hand, she held a golden flower. She tried to run from him. He was quick to ease her fears, assuring her he wasn't going to hurt her.

Snow dusted her long, blonde hair. Her face was red and pale with cold. She was shivering, wearing nothing but a nightgown. Her bare feet toed away from the snow that was building up. Her face was wet with tears.

He asked for her name. She was scared and nervous. She reminded him of Sophie. Finally, she told him to call her Flower. It was an odd name, but Jack paid it no mind. It probably wasn't her real name. The whole 'don't talk to strangers' idea was probably running through her mind.

Jack sent one of his special snowflakes to touch her nose and offered to play a game. Tag! She was it! He took off at a pace she could easily keep up with. He headed towards the road. When she tagged him, he tried to get her to run to road. When she started moving in the wrong direction, he'd tag her and run the right way.

"You saved me." Rapunzel breathed, all smiles and excitement.

Jack shrugged. "It's kind of my job to save children."

"And yet, you let my brothers play with a dragon." Merida commented.

"You're letting them, too."

"So… we've all had weird stuff happen to us." Hiccup concluded.

"I think we all just became best friends." Jamie grinned.


	19. Chapter 19

They, being Jamie, Sophie, and Rapunzel, sat and watched Merida's brothers trying to wrestle with an unmoving dragon. Merida wanted to get a better look. She was very curious and asked Hiccup if she could get a closer look.

Jack just wanted to see if Toothless was less angry. Which he wasn't. Jack, assuming Toothless had been trained well, tried to sit on Toothless's saddle. He was quickly bucked off and he landed flat on his back. His bruises burning and his ribs hurting, but he laughed in the glaring dragon's face.

Toothless would never like Jack.

Hiccup slowly brought Merida forward. He held her wrist and held a hand up to Toothless. While Hiccup was taking it slow, Merida was quick to gain her confidence and touched his snout and scratched under his chin. Toothless purred with delight and Merida squealed with excitement.

This was amazing!

Hiccup was actually surprised with how well Merida and Toothless took to each other. She was bouncing and circling the dragon and was really excited. After getting over the initial shock, she was treating Toothless much like a puppy.

Sophie thought it was less amazing. More terrifying. If anything, it was because of the dragon's dislike of Jack. She was terrified Toothless would seriously injure or even kill him. Jack either didn't think so or didn't care. He was brave enough to continue taunting him.

Sophie watched as Toothless would smile at Merida, then quickly change his tune when Jack got his attention. Rapunzel bucked herself up and went over to join them around the dragon. She introduced herself and Pascal.

Toothless and Pascal fell into a staring contest. Both were baffled by the other. Pascal was clearly defensive when it came to Rapunzel and Sophie wondered if the chameleon was really an ordinary lizard. Lizards didn't act like that.

Jamie understood his sister's nerves. Too many people. Even if they all had something unique in common, she was still intimidated and Sophie was thankful he understood. She was also grateful he sat with her.

He would have time to see the dragon later. Besides, they didn't want to overwhelm the creature.

Jack sat between them with a heavy and content sigh. Then groaned. Sophie could see bruises forming on the exposed parts of his legs and on the back of his neck. Sophie frowned and grabbed his sweatshirt, pulling it over his head. He protested adamantly, trying to twist away from her. When she had his sweatshirt off, he fixed his tee shirt and held his arms to brace against the cold. Sophie leaned around him, took his arm, and noticed bruises on the back of his biceps. She lifted the back of his teeshirt and saw dark patches forming all over his back.

"Stay away from the dragon, Jack." She ordered, promptly putting the sweatshirt on his head. "He's big enough to break bones. You're really lucky he hasn't." He grumbled and adjusted the black fabric. She saw he was going to protest. He opened his mouth and she was prepared to hear that it wasn't a big deal. That he was just having fun. She hugged her knees and frowned.

"… Okay, Soph."

What? That was a surprise. She gave him a grateful, relieved smile and kissed his cheek. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gave her that mischievous grin of his that made her wonder what he was up to. His fingers were at her ribs and he was beckoning Jamie to joined him.

Sophie beat them back, screaming with laughter. Soon, three tiny red-heads were pulling her from Jamie and Jack's grasp. She grinned up to them and they held out tiny hands. "H-Huh?"

Jack snickered. "They expect payment for their good deed."

Sophie shrugged gave an apprehensive smile. "I have cookies upstairs?"

They looked to each other then nodded, agreeing it was a good payment. Sophie got up and was joined by Hiccup who still needed to work on the artificial tail fin. Sophie grabbed cookies and helped Hiccup take his tools downstairs and outside. Before she left the apartment, she grabbed on more thing before joining the others.

Jamie had approached Toothless. His grin was wide and his phone was out, snapping pictures. Sophie knew it was for reference. Probably for his book, or else he wouldn't even bother. Jamie took pictures only when he really wanted to remember something or when he needed the detail for his stories.

Sophie gave the bag of cookies to Harris, Hubert, and Hamish who quickly scuttled away. Hiccup sat under the tree to continue his work and Sophie took out her box of chalk. She was sure there wasn't going to be any painting today. But maybe Rapunzel wanted to draw with chalk? And maybe the triplets would be interested, too.

She started with small doodles. She felt Hiccup's eyes on her and she offered a shy smile. He returned it. "You're scared of Toothless?"

She bit her lip. "… A bit. I mean, he seems harmless, but… humans scare me enough. The only things that don't scare me are usually Legends. Like Bunny and Jack. I grew up with those. Like, if I met the Leprechaun, I'm sure I'd be able to talk with them no problem. But… who wouldn't be scared of a dragon?" Sophie chuckled nervously.

"Yeah, well, he was the only one those Vikings really had a problem with," Hiccup explained. "They used to hunt dragons."

Sophie colored the flower she was drawing. "How scared were you when you caught him?"

Hiccup laughed. "I fainted."

"Sounds like what I would have done," Sophie muttered.

Rapunzel had caught what Sophie was up to. She was quick to join and somehow, Sophie felt less overwhelmed by her. With her biggest secret out in the open, Sophie found it easier to talk to Rapunzel.

The triplets snagged pieces of chalk. That's what it was there for. They drew a crude bear with arrows sticking out of it and stick figures trying to kill it. They drew little blue wisps of smoke. She wondered what exactly it was they were thinking with these drawings. They were strange, yet seemed purposeful.

Then they drew a boy with white hair and a hooked staff in the air above the bear. At that point, Jack sauntered over to them to see what they were up to. The triplets pointed to the boy with white hair and then to Jack.

Jack blinked and crouched to their level. "You guys really saw me?"

They grinned and clenched their fists in triumph. Harris—or was it Hamish?—jumped on to Jack's back and pulled at his hair. Hubert—or was that one Harris?—pulled his face down to look at his eyes. Hamish—Hubert?—was circling him and pointed to the picture.

"Ow! Hey! Let me go!" Sophie chuckled and her and Rapunzel pulled the two boys off of him. Jack laughed and situated himself. "I'm not Jack Frost anymore, guys. Sorry, I wish I would have known you saw me before. We could have had a ton of fun!"

The way they looked at him was clear disappointment. Jack frowned and Sophie felt her heart wrench for him. They pointed to the bear that Jack Frost was attacking. Jack's eyebrows furrowed. "Who is that…?"

They didn't answer. Sophie wondered if they  _could_. Perhaps they were hoping Jack could use his magic to beat this bear?

"… I'm sorry, guys." Jack rocked back, his eyes downcast. "I really am."

The triplets tackled him, rocking him back and he flipped, laughing. They wrestled with him, chalk dust covering the four of them as they rolled over the chalk drawing. Sophie chuckled and scooted away from them. It seems the boys weren't disappointed he had given them up. Just disappointed he couldn't fight this bear.

Sophie thought back to what Merida was saying earlier. When she asked the boys about Toothless. "Like will-o-the-wisp? Like Mor'du?" Was the bear Mor'du? Perhaps he was a legend from Scotland. Or an actual bear. She hoped it was a real bear because that would make it a million times less scary. Though, still terrifying.

When the sun began to set, Sophie and Rapunzel were up to their elbows in chalk. Rapunzel had used all of her purple and yellow, practically covering the whole courtyard stone in fantastic patterns of suns and flowers.

Sophie had drawn images of the Guardians to show Hiccup, Merida, and Rapunzel what they looked like. They still had trouble making out anything from the photo Jamie had tried to show them on his phone. They still couldn't even believe Jack was Jack Frost. Well, they could, but it was still hard for Hiccup and Merida to see him. Rapunzel and the triplets were able to see Jack, but that was the extent for the girl.

Hiccup fitted Toothless with this prosthetic wing. Once he had made sure it fit properly, it was quickly removed and replaced with the manual one. It was clear Merida wanted to go for a ride. Unfortunately, it was still too bright and just because Toothless was invisible it didn't mean they were. He wasn't even sure how the prosthetic and saddle became invisible with the dragon until Jack explained it was like clothing. When you wear something, it becomes a part of you. Which made it possible to change clothes over the centuries.

Jamie, Sophie, and Jack fed their guests except for Toothless. While he was thrown scraps, it wasn't enough to feed him. Hiccup had a trough for him at home with a ton of fish. When it got dark, Merida went home with her brothers, they waved Hiccup off as he and Toothless flew home, and Sophie and Jack took Rapunzel home while Jamie ran to the store to pick up a few things, since their food had been cleared out.

At the end of the night, Sophie collapsed on the couch, exhausted. This day was way too much for her. So many people, so many amazing things, so much  _sharing_. They all shared something. Even if it was clear not all secrets were told.

Magic.

Sophie pulled Jack on to the couch with her and snuggled into his chest. He stroked her hair and she smiled into his sweatshirt. He was so warm. He still smelled like chalk dust and autumn which was so different than how he used to smell. She almost longed for the crisp, biting scent that tickled your nose like cold air on a winter's day. But this was just as good.

"I can't really escape it, huh?" his chest rumbled as he chuckled and she squeezed him tighter. The life he had given up had just as soon came back in full circle. Months, he was already involved. Sophie wondered if it would make it easier or harder for him? A reminder of what he used to have and couldn't return to, or a new adventure in a world he was so familiar with?

Something told Sophie there wouldn't be much adventure. Just because there was a dragon involved didn't mean much had changed. It wasn't like he was going to save the world or anything. It just meant a stronger bond to their new friends—or, as Jamie said—best friends.

That's right… now Sophie didn't have to hide her belief in the Guardians. She had people she could share it with other than Jack and her brother. She didn't have to worry about scrutiny or funny stares. She could talk openly with these people! She could tell them of her amazing adventures and her wonderful experiences!

"I think it's MiM's way of telling you he misses you," Sophie mumbled into the fabric. Maybe this was more than just magic being attracted to other magic. Especially since Rapunzel's experience with Jack was _years_  ago. There was no possible way she would have been attracted to Sophie because of that. Maybe it was just MiM pushing the girl towards Jack as a reminder he  _did_  help children and that he  _was_ believed in. As a reminder that he wasn't alone anymore.

He curled around her, tangling his legs and arms with hers. Jack pulled his hood up and pressed his forehead against hers, his eyes closed and his lips turned into a slight frown. She could feel the crease between his brow. What was wrong?

"As mad as he made me for three centuries… I miss him, too." Sophie leaned upwards to kiss his brow. His face burrowed into her neck and she cradled him against her. "And with Harris, Hubert, and Hamish… and Rapunzel… I just… I regret not getting to know my believers better. I wonder if I spent time with them like I spent time with you guys… maybe none of them would have stopped believing."

"But, Jack… even though you spent time with Monty, Pippa, Cupcake, Claud and Caleb, they stopped believing. You played with them every winter and they still lost faith. It's just part of growing up, Jack." Sophie reasoned.

"Sophie… don't stop believing, okay?" Jack's voice was barely above a whisper. "Don't forget them. Not even Bunny."

Sophie snorted and kissed the top of his head. "Never." she promised. "I'll believe in them until I die. Even if I never see them again."

Lips pressed against her neck and she shivered. She understood, though. Jack, although he was smiling the whole day, he was having fun, he was horribly reminded of what he had given up. It wasn't good, but it wasn't bad either. He was glad while he was in the presence, but upon reflection, it made him miss it. She wondered if it was going to be like this every time.

The apartment door opened and the two of them detangled themselves. Jamie was home.

Jamie had stopped bothering her about her relationship with Jack. He pestered her and she pressed that it was none of his business. Jack was confused and she didn't want the boy to come under scrutiny and have Jamie misinterpret anything. She didn't want him to think Jack was taking advantage of her or she was taking advantage of him. What they were doing was mutual and it didn't hurt anybody.

But her brother stopped bothering her.

Maybe he asked Jack anyway.

Sophie chewed her nails and curled her knees into her chest. Oh god. Why hadn't she thought of that before? And why now? Because he almost walked in on them cuddling?

… Why the hell should she feel uncomfortable being caught cuddling? That was possibly the  _best_  thing they could get caught doing. Seriously, it's not like their relationship went further than that. She was comfortable with it and so was Jack.

And it's not like Jamie didn't know, right? He'd already seen them kissing, probably more than once. And it wasn't a full blown make-out session or anything, not like what Sophie had walked in on  _him_  doing. God, that was embarrassing.

If anything, she wished Jack would make up his mind about how he felt about her just so that Jamie would understand. She wanted it more for Jamie's sake than her own. It was weird, sharing close quarters with her brother and his best friend with whom she was in love with and who may-or-may-not like her back.

Well, he had to at least  _like_  her, right?

She wondered if that even crossed Jack's mind. Liking someone more than a friend, but not being in love with them. Then again, the whole thing felt so superficial. With Jack, it had to be all or nothing. Especially with how long he had lived and what he had been through.

Jack got up to help Jamie put the groceries away and Sophie went to take a shower. She was covered head to toe in chalk and dirt. Afterwards, she laid in her bed for a few hours with her laptop before there was a soft knock. Jack peered in and she set the computer aside, beckoning him to her.

Without a word, Jack crossed over, slipped under her covers, and pulled her close. He didn't speak. He simply head her against him. She rubbed his back and looked into his tired golden-brown eyes. He pressed his lips to hers in a gentle kiss.

As always, her heart raced and her cheeks went aflame. The warmth of his lips caught her off-guard  _still_. The pink of his cheeks was dim in the street lamps that flooded through her window. She needed to get curtains. Or not. It was often too bright to sleep, but she liked being able to see his face clearly in the dark.

"Thanks, Sophie." he sighed and he settled into her pillow and closed his eyes.

Wait. Did she just help him somehow?


	20. Chapter 20

It was the middle of November when the first snowfall of the season arrived. Jack was helping to settle the children for nap time, the twenty-odd boys and girls all snuggled on mats. Jack crouched to make sure Harris, Hubert, and Hamish were sleeping and not faking it like they often did when he noticed it. White flurries flew past the window.

Jack crossed through the children, occasionally stepping over them in his rush to the glass. He pressed his face up against it, looking up to the sky. He felt a bright grin spread across his lips. Snow! It still snowed! Even without him, snowflakes fell from the heavens slowly and lightly.

He shouldn't have been surprised. It  _always_  snowed, with or without his presence. Jack Frost wasn't the bringer of the weather. He just had control over it. He used snow and ice to help liven up the cold season and make it easier on the world. He taught the world how to have fun in times of cold and darkness.

Sometimes, Jack wondered why it took so long to find his center.

 _"Jack!"_  his coworker Marie hissed from across the room. He turned to the middle-aged woman. She was disgruntled and clearly not liking that he had been distracted. He knew she wasn't his biggest fan. She thought the only reason he was hired was to deal with the triplets, which, yes, that was part of it. But she also assumed once they left, he would too.

Jack was going to prove her wrong.

Jack edged around the children. He as he passed her, he held up a finger to signal he'd be back in a moment and have her his trademark smirk before slipping out of the room and darting out of the back door. Outside in the playground, Jack looked up to the skies, allowing flakes to settle on his face and in his hair.

Snow! Jack held up his hands to catch snowflakes and could not help but be surprised when they melted. Soon after the frozen ice particles touched his skin, they became water droplets. Snow never melted when it touched him before. At least, not that he could remember. He was sure it did when he was human. He probably would have been prosecuted for witchcraft or something otherwise. In hindsight, it was probably better he was invisible for a time.

How funny would it have been if they tried to drown him but he rose back up, completely unfazed? Or tried to burn him, but he simply froze the wood beneath him? He was sure a guillotine would have been useless as well. He was Immortal and for a reason.

"Jack?" the boy turned to face Lisa, who stood in the open doorway shivering. He hadn't realized it before, but it was actually quite cold outside. He wore a sweatshirt and jeans, but still found his teeth chattering. "What are you doing?"

"Sorry," Jack ruffled the back of his hair. He was thinking maybe it was time for a haircut. It was getting much longer than he thought it was. "But you see, I'm Jack Frost. I'm making it snow."

"Uh-huh," Lisa snorted, shaking her head. "Well, Jack Frost, get inside before you get soaked. I don't want your roommates blaming me if you get sick."

Jack trudged back inside, but not before lingering at the door and grinning up at the sky. Maybe Mother Nature had taken his place? Hopefully with his disappearance, the Natural World would still run just fine. It did before he was Jack Frost, and he was sure it would even now that he was gone.

He brushed flakes out of his hair and grinned to Lisa. "I just really like winter."

"Why am I not surprised?" she chuckled. "Your birthday is in winter too, isn't it?"

"December twenty-first." Jack nodded. He wasn't certain of the date he was born in Colonial Burgess, but he was sure of his birthdate as Jack Frost.

"The winter solstice. Your parents liked puns, didn't they?" she rubbed her arms, still trying to warm herself.

Jack shrugged. "You can say that."

It was dark when the daycare closed. Jack was still getting used to the whole Daylight Savings Time tradition. To him, it was useless. It was still dark earlier in the evening and it was still dark later in the morning. Nights lasted way too long, but such is the consequences of winter. Benjamin Franklin, imbecile, came up with the idea. Sort of. At least  _he_  didn't suggest turning the clocks back! But the idea wasn't used globally and the rest of the world did just fine without it. Jack would have suggested going to Arizona or Hawaii in order to escape it, but they didn't have snow.

And, in all honesty, Jack didn't want to be too far from Burgess.

Jack loved going to visit Susan because he loved the woman like a mother. But it also meant he was going  _home_. While this apartment and town were nice enough, he still missed his pond. It was  _his_. No matter what anyone said. It was where he was born.

Jack made a habit of leaving his sneakers at the daycare and bringing along flip flops. He didn't like wearing the sneakers if he didn't have to. Walking home was uncomfortable in them. He could at least deal with sandals. His coworkers couldn't understand his strange aversion to shoes and he didn't think they ever would. He didn't even try and explain it to them. Just let them think that they want.

At home, he sat in the living room to wait for Jamie and Sophie. He was excited, bouncing on his knees where he sat, window open and head sticking out. He wanted to play in the snow! It was sort of deep. Not really. But he could make a snowball out of it!

As soon as Jamie walked through the door around seven, Jack grabbed him by the elbow and dragged him back out. Jack ordered Jamie to tell Sophie where they were and to meet them in the courtyard once she got home.

Outside, Jack threw his sandals aside and ran through the freezing snow. He didn't care. He missed the feel of it. Jack rolled up his jeans so they wouldn't get in the way and skipped to the middle of the courtyard. When he bent over to gather snow in his hands, he realized something.

_He left footprints!_

"Jamie! Look!" He pointed, laughing. "Footprints!"

"Well, yeah," Jamie chuckled. "Humans can't walk on top of snow, you know. Not like dumb Immortals."

At that comment, Jamie was met with a face full of snow.  _Damn,_  the snow was cold! It bit at Jack's fingers and toes but he brushed it off when Jamie threw a ball of snow back at him. They chased each other around the courtyard, throwing snow and dodging attacks until one particular attack, Jack was certain he escaped but still felt the cold on the nape of his neck.

He looked around, squinting in the dark. The lamplights in the courtyard weren't very bright and made it hard to see. But the flash of color gave her away instantly. Jack ran towards a tree and skidded around, eliciting a squeak from a small blonde girl. He smirked and dropped the fist full of snow he was carrying on her head.

She chased him and he ducked behind Jamie when she tried throwing another snowball. There was an all out war until they exhausted themselves. The three retired inside and Sophie made them hot chocolate while Jamie taught Jack how to cook that night's dinner. They huddled around the heater wearing blankets and laughing, all red in the face.

Jack's fingers and toes were numb. His face was cold. He was soaked to the bone. His first winter as a human… This was… this was  _amazing_. It was wonderful and perfect and it was all so  _new_ , he couldn't wait to see what else could happen.

"It's different," Sophie commented quietly. Jack raised his eyebrow, confused.

"… Yeah." Jamie agreed. Wait… what was different? How was it different?

"The air kind of… bites you. It feels… bitter. Not like before." Sophie said, struggling to put it into words. She looked up at Jack through her lashes. "Your winters always kind of felt… like a comforting embrace? Like it was going to be okay because the cold couldn't hurt you."

"Yeah," Jamie nodded. "Yeah, just like that."

Jack looked into his hot chocolate. His winters really made that much of a difference? He never realized…. He had no idea he made an impact like that. He wished he could feel his winters like they did. He wanted to see exactly what they felt.

"Maybe it's just this snowfall, though," Sophie quickly added. He must have been making a face. He quickly tried to amend it, putting on his usual smirk. "We should get Rapunzel, Hiccup, and Merida to come out with us on our next days off. We gotta build forts and make snowmen and paint in the snow!"

"Yeah!" Jamie agreed. "Maybe the pond's frozen enough to skate!"

"We'll have to call Mom to make sure," Sophie nodded, getting in on his planning. Jack jumped in, quick to throw ideas. Maybe some snow luging and snowboarding! But, Jack, you saw how well you did surfing—It never hurts to try! Except when you still have bruises from last month. Ya-ouch.

When Jamie went to bed, Sophie and Jack cleaned up the dishes and curled up by the heater. Jack's hands and feet were still cold as ice. Sophie held his hands and blew hot air before rubbing friction into them. Maybe next time he should wear some boots and gloves. Pssh. That's ridiculous. He didn't need them.

The two huddled by the heater in the living room. The movie Jamie popped in during dinner was still playing, though none of them watched it. Background noise. It was always background noise. Jamie said it helped him focus, but Jack always found TV and movies distracting.

Sophie liked music. She said it helped keep her going while she painted or drew or sculpted.

Jack brushed her hair away from her eyes. It seemed like she needed a haircut, too. He wondered if she was growing it out again and if it would take another ten years for her to cut it off. He liked that about her, though. She didn't care how her hair looked because somehow, it always looked  _good_. He liked it, especially when it was messy. It just added to her charm. At the moment, her blonde locks were in tangles and disheveled from running around outside and rolling in the snow.

He always had to catch himself when he captured her gaze, though. She had beautiful, bright green eyes. Unlike any he had seen. They always reminded him of spring.  _She_  reminded him of spring. She was glowing and bright and full of hope. Her hair was the sun and her eyes were the fresh grass. Her skin was soft as flower petals and her smile was warm and welcoming.

He wondered how someone so warm could every love a being of ice like himself.

He didn't catch himself fast enough. Her brows knit together, bewildered. He simply smiled and kissed her forehead. He was happy with her. That much he knew. Even if she brought forward thoughts that made his head hurt or said something that made him long for Guardianship, he knew it wasn't her intention to hurt him. She would instantly regret it, apologize, but it wasn't her fault. He needed to think about these things.

He was just scared, if he was going to admit it.

He was scared that he may have made a mistake. He was scared that he wouldn't ever fit into this world. He was  _terrified_  he'd be left alone again, this time powerless and broken.

But when he was with her, somehow he felt that none of that mattered. He looked at her and knew this was the right decision. With her, everything was just  _right_.

Jamie helped sometimes, too. But with Jamie, it was different. He could voice those fears and Jamie would help calm him down. Jamie would assured him he wouldn't be left alone. Jamie would verbally calm him down.

Sophie just had to  _be there_.

"So, it's your birthday next month," Sophie said quietly. He felt her smile against his collar. "What do you want?"

"Nothing," Jack said with a shrug. He still had trouble wrapping his head around the idea that he could  _have_  stuff. That he had a place to put it and it could stay with him all of his life.

"I'm getting you something anyway." She frowned. "There's gotta be something you want."

"Christmas is next month," Jack mimicked her. "What do you want for Christmas?" Jack stopped for a moment. Oh. "No, seriously, what do you want for Christmas? I can't make you or Jamie ice stuff anymore. I have no idea what to get you guys."

Jack had been taken under North's wing shortly after the ordeal with Pitch. Jack would help North while he built ice prototypes and North taught him how to sculpt. Jack, being the magical being he was, was able to create ice that wouldn't melt. In the early days, he would get Jamie and Sophie magical toys. They broke too easily, though. The toy space ship Jack built Jamie one year crashed the day he got it. So, he built some more items of sentiment like he did the first year.

But this year, he supposed he would have to buy gifts. He couldn't build or sculpt them or put magic in them to make them fantastical. Trying to think of something to get them actually seemed… cheap in comparison.

"Surprise me." she beamed.

"Alright," Jack sighed. Yep. He was screwed. What the hell was he going to get them?

Sophie got on her knees and opened the window above them a crack. She inhaled deeply and giggled. "It smells like you." She gave him that smile that wasn't perfect, but still managed to be amazing. It was his favorite smile that she gave him whenever she was excited about something. "It smells like winter. The first snowfall."

Jack joined her at the window and inhaled. "I smell like that?" He wasn't sure if it was good or not. It bit at his nose and wasn't sure if it was a smell at all. It smelled like cold. Or burned like winter. He wasn't sure.

"Well, you used to." she leaned her head on the window sill. "You still smell really good, though." Her cheeks tinged pink.

"That just might be the soap." Jack chuckled.

"Mm-mm." she shook her head and leaned in to smell him. "I mean, I smell the soap, but there's something else, too. It just smells like Jack."

"Yeah, well," Jack tilted his head while she was still close and nuzzled his nose into the crook of her next. She froze, her breath hitched. "You smell like paint… and Sophie. Sophie smells good." Like spring.

It was a weird topic. Yeah, really weird. But Sophie was a strange girl who usually just noticed the odd or abnormal. He didn't mind indulging her. It was usually interesting and fun to get an insight to her thoughts and actions. He was glad she shared them with him.

He pressed his lips against her throat. Jack felt her shudder. Huh. Why did she do that? he wondered. Before, he assumed it was because his lips and skin were cold. But she would still shiver when he kissed her neck.

He peered upwards, his lashes brushing against her skin. She stiffened. Hm. Jack pushed her hair back and moved his lips up, leaving butterfly kisses as he traveled to her jaw. Her breathing came out in deep, controlled breaths. He knew she was ticklish on her neck, but were his lips tickling her?

Sophie took Jack's face in her hands and kissed him hard. It shocked him for a moment. He wasn't expecting that. Another thing that he didn't expect was a moment before she pulled away, she bit down on his lower lip—hard.

"Ouch!" Jack pulled back, holding his lips. She glared at him playfully before getting to her feet and adjusting the blankets around her shoulders. What was that for?!

"I'm going to go lay down." she announced, closing the window. Jack tenderly touched his lip that throbbed. As she moved towards her room, she looked back at him. "Want to come cuddle?"

Cuddling in bed usually meant spending the night with Sophie. He had never really been invited. It usually just happened or one of them invited themselves in. It was mostly for comfort when either of them were stressed out. When Jack had a hard day with humanity or Sophie needed calming. They knew they could go to each other and just hold on another until they fell asleep.

It was never an invitation before.

Jack most certainly wasn't going to pass up snuggling for the sake of snuggling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to have a Halloween themed chapter, but it didn't really further the story line. Besides, a first snowfall is more momentous than a first Halloween. I mean, you know, it's Jack Frost here. XD Though, Jack greatly does enjoy Halloween. For his first Halloween, he dresses up like the Spirit of Halloween and nobody gets it. I mean, if you REALLY want to know details, I can add them to the story like he's talking about it with someone. But it doesn't further anything.


	21. Chapter 21

Jack sprawled out in the back seat of Jamie's car. He stared down at the shifting trash as they drove to Burgess. It wasn't all that long of a trip, but he still couldn't get used to cars and driving and the unsteady, jerky motion. The wind was  _much_  smoother.

Jamie drove. Sophie sat in the front seat, a bag of wrapped gifts at her feet. It was Jack's "birthday." They were going to Susan's home for dinner to celebrate. While Jack really appreciated the thought—he did, honest!—he had never celebrated a birthday in his life and he didn't think he should start now. He didn't look any older, he didn't feel any older.

But he was nineteen. Or, officially, three hundred and thirty six.

God, he'd been around forever.

Jack crawled out of the car when they finally stopped. He smiled at the woman that greeted them and pulled him into an embrace. She wished him a Happy Birthday as she welcomed them inside. It felt good to be back in this house. It felt like home if he ever had one.

While they had dinner together just two weeks ago, he was happy to see Susan. They caught up, Jack telling her of the shenanigans of his favorite triplets. He hadn't realized how he found himself comparing them to how Jack and Jamie would get in trouble. Rather, Jamie got in trouble while Jack sat back, laughing and invisible.

"They're like your new Jamie and Sophie, huh?" Susan mused.

Jack leaned back with a smirk. "Looks like I found your replacements. Sorry, guys."

"Okay, you go live with them," Jamie shrugged, crossing his arms. "They're so great, I think the DunBroch's will take you in."

"Are you kidding me?" Jack scoffed. "I wouldn't live under the same roof as Merida even if you paid me in snowflakes."

"Snowflakes would melt pretty quickly." Sophie commented casually.

"Also, Merida's mother doesn't like me very much. She thinks I'm a bad influence on her boys or something." Jack shook his head, baffled. He had been genuinely nice to the woman when he met her on Halloween to go Trick-or-Treating with Merida, Rapunzel, and the triplets. Fergus liked him enough, but Elinor was a bit stiff.

"Gee, I wonder why." Susan replied, sipping her coffee.

"Hey, hey! Jamie and Sophie turned out just fine!" Jack pointed out.

"Couple of weirdos if you ask me." Susan grinned playfully. "I blame you."

Over dinner, Sophie went on about how close she was becoming to Rapunzel. Rapunzel was her first  _real_  friend since middle school. She had become comfortable with the girl that they had slumber parties and her parents welcomed Sophie quite openly. Turns out, Rapunzel didn't have any friends growing up either and were very happy Sophie befriended her.

Which Sophie very verbally claimed she didn't understand. Rapunzel was pretty and bubbly and just  _clung_  to Sophie. How was she not able to make friends? Jamie reasoned that perhaps, since she was sheltered, it made making friends hard. And so, she tried too much and freaked people out. Like Sophie. Sophie was overwhelmed by her, but didn't back away.

Susan snickered when she asked about Hiccup's dragon. Yeah. They told her, mostly because of Jamie's excitement. Hiccup had taken the man on a few rides on Toothless and Jamie had to admit it was  _much_ more thrilling than riding the winds with Jack.

Jack didn't like that. If he could still control the winds, he would most certainly show Jamie a better time than riding some insane dragon. No, it had nothing to do with the fact Toothless still hated Jack. Like the last time they met. Toothless snapped at Jack, but Jack made sure to stay a reasonable distance. He promised Sophie he'd stay away from Toothless. Even if he did want to mess with him.

Jamie wanted to bring them over and show her. Instantly, she became wary. A giant, fire breathing lizard? She might have to pass on meeting that one. Nope, not a fan. Jack Frost was one thing, but a dragon?

When dinner was finished, Susan brought out a cake. While it had nineteen candles on it, it also had candles in the shape numbers: 336.

Jack remembered standing around the table for Jamie's and Sophie's birthdays. He's sing along with the family or the crowd of friends and give them birthday wishes. He was invisible to most. Some of the other children around would see him. But they stopped believing after some years.

It was weird being in that seat. He didn't know where he was supposed to look. The cake? The people singing to him? His shoulders tensed and he held his ankles that were crossed on the seat. Jack decided it was better to look at the flickering candles.

"Jack." He looked up across the table where Jamie snapped a quick picture. "D'awwww, lookit, Jackie's first birthday!"

Jack started chucking the closest objects he could reach at the man that laughed and protected his face from the projectiles. Cups and empty soda cans bounced off of Jamie's hand and Susan and Sophie had to grab Jack's hands to stop him. Once they settled, Jamie, Sophie, and Susan stood around him and sang.

Somehow, the song filled him with warmth. Isolation for so long made this feeling that someone cared for him and wanted him there burn his chest and left him speechless. Jamie's strong hands on his shoulders squeezed him when the song was done.

"Make a wish," Sophie instructed.

What could he wish for? And was he really in a position to wish? No, Jack was out of wishes. The only wish that mattered came true. He already had everything that he ever needed.

Jack blew out the candles, leaving them in the dark.

Susan turned on the lights and put the candles in a cup of cold water before slicing the cake and dishing it out. As Jack went to take a bite of his cake, he was suddenly met with a face full of frosting. What. Where did that come from?

He wiped his eyes and Sophie stuck her tongue out. Oh! It was on! Jack stood up and the girl squealed before ducking under the table. Jack grabbed his plate and crouched. She had crawled to the other side and was darting for the door to the living room.

He circled around the table, Jamie and Susan snickering as he chased her. Jack set the plate down and grabbed a handful of cake. The plate was a distraction. Sophie was running for the front door, probably thinking he wouldn't chase her outside in his bare feet.

Bahaha! Outside, he tackled her into the snow and slammed the treat into her face. She gasped for air through giggles and he straddled over her waist, a triumphant smirk playing on his lips.

"Ha!"

She threw snow in his face and he grabbed her shoulders to tumble in the cold with her. He didn't mind. He was still in wonder how it felt to be  _cold_. She gasped, shivering and pulled away from him. She was in a long sleeve shirt, a pair of shorts with thick leggings and boots. Clearly not dressed for playing in the snow.

When Jack realized Sophie was shaking through her smiles, he helped her up and suggested going inside. As they moved to the door, something caught Jack's eye. Something in the sky. He stopped and looked up. What was that? It was heading towards his pond. And it wasn't a bird.

He was curious. He told Sophie to go inside and he'd catch up in a moment. She was hesitant, but did as he requested. As Jack ran towards his pond, he scooped snow to wash the frosting off of his face. There, he stood up on the slight incline, following the path leading to the water with his eyes.

There were two teenagers. A boy and a girl, the girl holding the boy by the elbows as she taught him how to skate on the ice. He stumbled and moved stiffly, trying to balance himself. She was graceful and lithe, clearly having years of practice.

_Twang!_

Jack jumped as an arrow slammed into the boy's chest. He was unfazed, didn't so much as flinch. The arrow burst into a shower of pink glitter and the boy met the girl's gaze. They shared smiles and he just looked so  _happy_.

Jack followed where the arrow had come from. He looked up into the branches of a tree to see a man about Jamie's age sitting near the top. He gave a satisfied nod before stand up, a broad set of wings spreading out.

"Cupid?" Jack called up.

The man looked down, his shocking blue eyes widened in surprise. Jack braced himself against the cold wind that passed through the forest. He remembered when he met this man. Once, about seventy years ago. It was a very strange meeting.

Not that how they met was weird. Just… the man himself was strange.

He looked a bit like Fabio, that man on every romance cover. Broad chest, chiseled facial features, very dark hair. He was good looking. On his chest was a clockwork heart tattooed. He wasn't the cherub everyone thought he was. He was just… a beautiful man.

"Is that Jack Frost?"

"Yeah." Jack nodded.

Cupid dropped from his perch on the branch and landed gracefully in the snow. He looked Jack up and down and put the crossbow in the holster on his back. "So the rumors are true."

Jack rubbed the back of his head. "Rumors spread quickly."

"Well, when it concerns the Guardians." Cupid shrugged. "The youngest and most promising Guardian gave it up. Though, some rumors say you faded due to lack of believers. I'm glad that one wasn't true."

Jack raised his eyebrow. "Why would you care?" he asked frankly. Cupid and him weren't close. They met once. They didn't make any connection or friendship of some sort. In fact, Cupid seemed quite disinterested in Jack Frost. He was distracted and focused on his work. Jack didn't blame him, most Immortals weren't interested in befriending each other. They were concentrated on their work and purpose.

But now Jack had his attention.

"I was scared my proudest work would have gone to waste." Cupid replied casually, looking to the couple on the ice. "Even if you are possibly the stupidest boy I've ever come across."

"… Excuse me?" What the hell?

"You really don't know, do you?" the man barked out a laugh. "You're quite dense. Come on, let's walk." Cupid put a hand on Jack's shoulder as the two on the ice took notice to him. He gave them one last look and walked with Cupid who was probably invisible to them. They walked in to the forest where Jack could talk with him and not look insane.

"Jack, have you heard of the idea of soulmates?"

Jack rubbed his arm. Oh god, this is why it was weird to talk to Cupid. He talked about love in metaphors and in theories and never spoke straightforward and only proved to confuse him even more on the subject. He had done well to block out whatever Cupid had said and ignored what he had told him on the subject all those years ago.

"I've read about it." Jack grumbled, crossing his arms.

"The idea that you have another half of you out there in the world… The red string theory is incorrect. You know, that there's an invisible red string that connects you to your soulmate. That's impossible. No, it's more like… matching shapes and colors. Like that boy was a red octagon and that girl was a rouge circle. You're an icy blue hexagon." Cupid explained. His wings ruffled as he shook snow from them.

"… You just shot them, though." Jack said, looking back. "You shot those two even though they weren't matching shapes or colors."

Cupid shrugged. "It's rare to find soulmates, Jack. Sometimes, I bring people together when they need someone. If they're colors or shapes are close enough, I'll pair them up. In the last ten years, I've only matched six pairs of soulmates."

Jack furrowed his brows. "Only six?"

"Yep," Cupid nodded. "Your friend Jamie was lucky enough to find his. That lovely girl, Laura. My job is to try and bring soulmates together, you know. That was my original intention, anyway. But everyone deserves love, even if they aren't perfect together. I'll pair them with who they need, not who they want. Soulmates aren't always… around. They rarely never meet. Some are born years apart. Centuries, sometimes. They might be across the globe or as far as ninety years apart. Jamie got quite lucky his soulmate was right in his backyard. So, I try and pair those that are compatible enough to get along, since finding your other half is as rare as it is."

"What about… what about those people that hurt each other?" Jack asked tentatively.

Cupid snorted. "They aren't in love." he scoffed. "They're besmirching what love is about. I certainly didn't pair them. I don't bring every couple together, Jack. Humans love the idea of love, so they'll try and bring it themselves. They say they're in love, but it's just some chemical in their mind telling them they are. It's not  _real_  love. Real love is from the soul, not the heart."

Jack supposed that cleared that up. There was so much clarity, even though some of what Cupid had said he had been told before. It was different coming from the bringer of love, he supposed. Cupid would know more about love than anyone else.

"Okay… and when you said your 'proudest work…?'" Jack frowned. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear it.

"An Immortal. A Guardian of the Children. One who had never known love before, nor cared to know it. A human girl. One who had been alone in her own right." Cupid wrapped an arm around Jack's shoulders and Jack watched his other hand dance with flare. "A tragic romance! One that could never be! While he never changed, she would age. Slowly, his heart would break when he realized she would have to leave him. But~!" Cupid spun Jack and put his hands on his shoulders. "Now! Now the boy could finally be with the girl that loves him so much! They can grow old together and be  _together_."

Jack grabbed Cupid by the wrists and shoved him off. What… what was he saying? That he made Sophie love Jack? That Jack…. That Jack  _loved_  Sophie, too? That Cupid paired them with the intention of them eventually getting hurt?

"Is this a game to you?!" Jack spat. "Your telling me that you shot us… you shot us so that we'd end in heartbreak? Because it's a soap opera or some kind of romance novel? You get a kick out of it?"

Cupid shook his head. "No, Jack. I paired you because Sophie deserves you and you deserve Sophie." The man shrugged. "The drama just made it exciting."

"So, we're what? Soulmates?" Jack rubbed his forehead.

"I never said that." Cupid crossed his arms. Then, smirked. "But I never said you weren't either. I told you how you feel about her. You can figure out of she's your soulmate for yourself. You're not  _that_  dumb, are you?"

Jack swung a kick that Cupid easily blocked. "Screw you!"

"What are you mad about?" Cupid laughed. "Look! Your story doesn't end tragically. Your story can go on for much longer than it would have before. Depending on if you or her find a shape or color closer to your own. Or perhaps it will last until death do you part. I'm not telling."

Man, this guy was really pissing him off! He was getting a laugh from this! It really was just a game to him! And he really looked confused. Cupid really didn't understand what Jack was angry about?

"I don't want to play your games!" Jack was shaking and not just because of the cold. He threw a punch that Cupid caught and the man twisted his arm behind his back. Damn it!

"I'm not playing any games, Jack." Cupid said calmly. "I was playing games when the Mermaid separated the first soulmates I found in a century. I was playing games when I made her fall in love with a sailor. _That_  was a game, Jack."

Jack glared at him. "When you make a girl love someone who is Immortal, that's playing games. That's setting her up for hurt. That's not fair to Sophie!"

"But look who's no longer Immortal." Cupid chuckled and released him.

"You couldn't possibly have known that was going to happen," Jack rubbed his wrist.

"No," Cupid admitted. "But hearts change. She would have been fine. You, too, Jack."

Jack ran his hands through his hair. He didn't believe that, not for a second. Sophie was strong, but love was a powerful emotion. He had seen people break completely because of it. He didn't want that to happen to Sophie.

"I'm not playing your game," Jack repeated. "You shot her. When did you even shoot her? I haven't seen you for seventy years—"

"Seventy-six years."

"Whatever!" Jack threw his hand up. What did it matter exactly how many years it was?! "My point is, how long has it been, Cupid?"

Cupid thought for a moment. "Hm… I shot her a little bit before she was sixteen. It didn't activate until you kissed her for the first time. The arrows don't always activate the feeling right away. It can lay dormant for a while." he explained, nodding. "Yeah. I shot you a few months before I shot her. Activated right away."

Jack stopped and took the man in. He brushed snow that had fallen in his dark hair. He was serious. "Really?"

"Yeah. The point when you first realized she wasn't a little girl anymore. I had to be super secretive with that one. I had to make sure to get your back and that you wouldn't see me."

Jack tried to recall when that was. There had been so many because he would quickly forget that Jamie and Sophie were growing up. Rather not "forget" but push the thought to the back of his mind. The memory was buried with the others. He tried to sift through and bring it forth, but there was so much running through his mind.

First, the fact that he actually, truly was in love with Sophie. Second, Cupid was an asshole. Third, he really  _hated_  the fact that Cupid had told him he was in love with Sophie.

He wanted to figure it out on his own. On the other hand, it probably never would have been sorted out if someone didn't tell him. This was the last way he wanted to know about his feelings for the girl.

"… She was fifteen." Jack muttered. It was all he could think to say.

"Three years difference isn't all that much, you know." Cupid brushed something off of Jack's face. Icing. "Besides, people used to marry once they could procreate. It's only a recent idea to marry when you're older."

"But…." Jack couldn't wrap his head around this. "But  _why_?"

"Everyone deserves to be loved," Cupid stretched his wings. He was ready to move on. "Even Jack Frost."

Jack sighed and rubbed his head. "What is 'love' anyway?"

Cupid snorted. "Love doesn't have one answer. It's not one specific thing. There's no right or wrong with true love."

"That doesn't help me."

Cupid put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Make your own love story, Jack. Make love what  _you_  want it to be."

After Cupid had departed, Jack's head was spinning and his feet were numb. He treked back through the forest and found Susan, Jamie, and Sophie at the edge of the pond, talking to the teens. They were pointing to the forest where Jack disappeared and the Bennetts turned.

He gave them a wary smile and Sophie ran over, wrapping her arms around him. He had been gone too long and worried them. That wasn't his intention. A jacket was wrapped around his shoulder and he was led back inside.

When questioned where he was, he explained he ran into an Immortal, but didn't go further. He didn't want to talk about this one with them. This was one story he wouldn't share. It was too complicated and Jack's was still trying to understand what just went on. They worried, but he smiled and asked for some of that cake. He hadn't had a chance to eat it, but what he had tasted really yummy.

He was made hot chocolate and wrapped in blankets on the living room floor when Sophie announced it was time for presents. He didn't want them. He didn't want anything. But he appreciated the thought.

The Bennetts knew he really didn't want anything. He never asked for it. But they gave him gifts anyway. Susan got him a winter coat. She was made aware that he didn't own one and thought since he was outside more often than he should be, he should have it. Okay, Jack could use this. All that time outside tonight was really cold and he would have liked to have had it.

Sophie had given him a sculpture that was shaped like swirling Dreamsand. Dolphins and butterflies and fish danced around the sand. Jack grinned as he traced the shape of the dolphin. It was beautiful. While it wasn't the sand itself, it took on every property except for the glow. It was… perfect.

Jamie's gift, through the wrapping paper, felt like a paperback book. It was thick and weighty. Jack tore the paper away and on his lap sat a stack of papers sewn together. The first page was blank except for a few words.

_Book One  
Jack Frost: The Guardian of Fun  
_ _By Jamie Bennett_

Jack knew Jamie had been working on these books for years. Jamie refused to let Jack read more than a few sentences of any of them, mostly to check facts and make sure they were accurate. Jack had trouble swallowing, his throat felt swollen.

"Jamie," he was touched, his voice thick with emotion. A book about him. A book about the Guardians. Jack flipped through the manuscript. He didn't know what to say.

"I wish I could have gotten it published by now." Jamie shrugged. "I probably could have gotten you enough believers to… you know."

Jack shook his head. "No, no." He held the book to his chest. "No, it's fine. This is perfect. This is… this is wonderful, Jamie." He pulled the man into an embrace. "Thank you."

_Thank you._


	22. Chapter 22

Jack mulled and fumed over his meeting with Cupid over the next few days. He was mad and felt toyed with. But it brought several things to light and made it much easier to really understand how he felt about Sophie. While he was mad about how he was told of his affections for the girl, it took so much weight off of his chest.

He loved her. He loved Sophie.

Now how was he going to tell her?

Then again… that would be going along with Cupid's game, right? The thought caught Jack to curse loud enough to raise alarm from his roommates. To avoid question, he took a walk in the cold to clear his head. He knew they had been worried, that he was acting weird. But he just needed to  _think_.

Cupid had told him it wasn't a game. How wasn't this a game? Clearly, Jack and Sophie had been in love for a long time. It hurt to realize he may have been toying with her. He felt like a jerk. He should tell her Cupid had struck them.

Did he want to be with her? Romantically? … Weren't they already together romantically anyway? What would change? Jack and Sophie kissed and held each other and they were already in a position where people questioned if they were a couple. Nothing would change except for the label. They would change from friends to…  _together_.

It sounded nice. It sounded… right. But Jack didn't know the first thing about romance. He'd screw everything up. He just wanted to make Sophie  _happy_.

He cursed again. This was so frustrating.

It was Christmas Eve. They spent it at Susan's home. Their family had come to Burgess for the holiday and Jack was able to meet Susan's parents. Susan's father, Eric, was frank and very skeptical of Jack. The boy could see how Susan was able to take Jack in. She seemed to rebel against him and purposefully ticked him off.

Susan's mother, Ellen, was gentle and could easily deflect Eric's words. Susan's sister, Carrey, and her husband, Marco, were rich and living it up and not afraid to show off their flair. They told stories of trips to Asia and their children bragged about European backpacking trips and how worldly they were.

Jack wasn't impressed. Lina and Jerry tried to make themselves seem like they were better than Jamie and Sophie. Because they had been more places, at least according to their passports, and they'd seen more. Jamie and Sophie were unabashed, though. They knew they'd seen parts of the world even their cousins would never be able to tread. They listened politely and nodded and acted interested.

Jack would ask if they'd seen particular parts of the countries they'd been to. If they had seen some of the amazing wonders. If they had come across rare cultures and explored beautiful caverns. Jack described in great detail some of the placed he'd seen they had passed right by.

"For someone who had run away from home, you seem to have traveled pretty far," Lina crossed her arms. She frowned and it was clear she had stopped buying Jack's lie.

"Why do you think I ran away from home?" Jack shrugged casually, flipping through the pictures Jerry had taken with his DLSR. "I wanted to see the world. I snuck on cargo ships and airplanes to get to Europe and back. Seriously, it's a lot easier than you think." Jack pointed to a split path in a picture. "Seriously? You took that one? If you took the other path, you would have found the  _best_  waterfall within the country. It's great to jump off! In the winter, it freezes."

"Told you we should have gone that way," Jerry elbowed Lina. Lina rolled her eyes.

This was Jamie and Sophie's family? No wonder Jack had never seen them around. They were complete opposites. Snotty, selfish, and stuck up. Lina and Jerry weren't a fan of Jack, which he was getting used to. He enjoyed taking people down a peg when they were up too high. It often got him sour faces and glares.

Carrey and Marco thought he was charming. They thought it was generous of Susan to take him in and asked if she needed any extra cash to help take care of him, since she was on her own. She was clearly biting back acid when she told them she was just fine and that he had paid his dues.

Christmas Eve dinner was awkward. Yes, very awkward but tonight was going to make up for it. Ignoring strange looks from Jamie's and Sophie's cousins, he grinned in spite of himself. Tonight, North was going to be here. The three of them would continue their tradition of trying to capture him.

Every year for the past fifteen years, Jack helped them stop North and make him take them for a ride. As punishment, Jack had to help put out toys. It helped make up for the lost time and was payment for the ride. Honestly, Jack didn't mind. It was  _fun_. He understood why North loved the job so much.

Over dessert, Eric tried to drill Jack against Susan and Ellen's wishes. Jack waved off their attempts to stop Eric and easily replied with scripted answers. Jack was deterred once and only once.

"You better not be getting any ideas about my granddaughter, you hear!" Eric waved a fork at him. Jack choked on his drink. "She's a fragile girl and I know how boys are. I was one, once!"

When Jack caught his breath, Sophie had her face buried into her arms and Jamie was rubbing his temples, clearly trying to calm down. How was Jack supposed to respond to that?

"S-Sorry?"

"You're living with her, right? Jamie, you keep an eye on your sister. And this ruffian." Eric finished off his whiskey.

"Ruffian?" Jack barked out a laugh. "Sir, I assure you, I have no intentions of hurting Sophie. She's safe, I promise." He had been making sure she was safe for almost eighteen years, he wasn't going to stop now.

"Yeah, you say that now." Eric snorted and poured himself another glass. He mumbled something low enough that Jack couldn't hear, but caused Ellen to smack him over the back of the head.

"That's enough now." she ordered.

Jack sat with Jamie to put Eric at ease when the family exchanged gifts. Jamie mumbled to Jack that  _this_  was why Laura wasn't here tonight. That she had come to a Christmas Eve dinner with his family last year and he was completely embarrassed. She deserved much better. Instead, he was going to spend the next day with her family who were much more welcoming.

Jack actually got something, which was surprising. Carrey and Marco had gotten him a rather expensive looking watch. The thanked them graciously. Later, Jamie explained it was because they had already bought it for Jerry, but the boy told them it was the wrong brand and they could not refund it. Jamie and Sophie often got gifts from them that Lina and Jerry didn't want but were already paid for.

Yeah. Brats.

At least Ellen seemed nice enough. That must have been where Susan got it from. She got him a book, since Susan told her he liked to read. Jack hadn't read this one yet and genuinely thanked her. He appreciated her gift and thoughtfulness.

Jack let out a breath of relief when the night was over and the family left. He slumped on Sophie's lap and Susan looked to him apologetically. Sophie stroked his hair as Susan apologized for her family. Jack waved it off. They weren't any worse than his coworkers. He was used to people looking down on him, he'd been through that for three hundred years.

That night, Jack made an attempt to sit on the mantle to wait and pounce on North. It creaked under his weight and he quickly jumped down. Susan had gone to bed, even when offered a chance to meet Nicholas St. North. She smiled and told them it was their world. She didn't belong there.

Jack briefly wondered what that meant, but was quickly distracted when Jamie, Jack and Sophie had to pick their positions. Jack held a spool of ribbon, Jamie a roll of tape, and Sophie had a roll of wrapping paper. They were placed strategically around the fireplace.

Something crashed on to the roof and they stood at the ready. Grinning from ear-to-ear, Jack had a hard time containing his excitement. This was the first time he was going to actually see any of the Guardians since his goodbye in June. He really,  _really_  missed them.

Out of the fireplace, a soot-cloud failed to shroud a tall man. It was the perfect cover for the three that were ready to ambush him! Jack threw the spool that twisted, holding the end of the ribbon. He darted around the confused man and grabbed the spool before it fell. As Jack circled the man, Jamie came in with the tape and Sophie the wrapping paper.

A hearty laugh rumbled from their victim. When the soot settled, Nicholas St. North was wrapped like a Christmas present.

"Ack! You got me!" He admitted in his thick Russian accent. "Now, unwrap me or else you get coal!"

Breathless chuckles and giggles filled the room as they tore the paper and ribbon from North. He stood tall above them, eyeing Jamie and Sophie before his gaze fell upon Jack. His big eyes were glossy and he smiled warmly.

"Jack." he stated, setting his bag down. "You look happy."

Jack nodded and shifted from one foot to the other. The frustration of the past few days was suddenly lifted. The horrid evening was just a small inconvenience. "I am."

North lifted Jack and pulled him into a rib-cracking embrace. Oh! It felt wonderful! It was familiar and warm and reminded Jack just what he was missing. North kissed both cheeks and set the boy down that beamed up at him.

"Good! I am glad!" He clapped Jack on the shoulder. "Well, come! We have many places to go and lots to catch up on!"

Jack bit his lip and put a hand on North's. "Sorry, but… I think we're going to passed this year." Jack looked to Jamie and Sophie. He had already discussed this with them and they agreed. It was for the best. "We'll just slow you down."

"Oh," North was genuinely disappointed before he perked up. "Is fine. No matter. You tell us all about this at Christmas party." North nodded and began to unload the Bennett's gifts. The pile was considerably smaller than it used to be since they weren't children anymore. It was only an exception that they received gifts at all from North. "Is the twenty-eighth this year. Do not be late. You two better be there as well!"

"Uh, how am I going to get there?" Jack chuckled, crossing his arms. North didn't always think things through, Jack learned. There had been times when North had gotten them trapped in predicaments that North had not thought out quite completely. Then again, North got them out of there quickly. It must have been remains from his days as a thief and a rogue.

Jack wished he could have met North in those days.

"I have transportation arranged. No worries." North slung his sack over his shoulder. "Perhaps next year I can take you for ride."

Jack wasn't so sure. But he assured North that they would be up for it. The large man put a hand on Jack's shoulder one last time and looked him up and down before meeting his gaze. Jack felt his heart squeeze and he yearned to go along with North. He wanted to help give out gifts and tease Sophie about her fear of the sleigh (she greatly disliked North's driving methods and the reindeer and the turbo) and marvel the view with Jamie.

Most of all, he wanted to stay with North. He missed the man tremendously. He missed all of the Guardians. He had spent some time with the others, but he summed up he spent the most time with North. Toothiana and Sandman were always busy and while it was enjoyable to hang out with Bunnymund, North offered more options.

And North had taught him _so_  much. Much more than he had ever thought the man could teach him. Jack had learned to marvel in wonder and  _really_ appreciate the world and what it had to offer. Being alone for so long left him bitter and while some of the more fantastic features of the world caught his attention, he really had no appreciation of them before North. He didn't think about the work put into building them or how long it took for these wonders to form on their own.

North showed him the magic of it all.

North taught him how to sculpt and create. While he could manifest creations and ghosts of frost, they never lasted long. North taught him how to channel his magic and utilize it to it's fullest. Much to Jack's surprise, North was actually the apprentice of the wizard he had met in the town of Santoff Clausen. North had taught him some of the simpler spells before Jack began to lose power.

But one spell he still hung on to was the first one he learned:  _I believe, I believe, I believe._

Simple, yet powerful.

Jack wondered if North could have been considered his father figure. He didn't have anything to base it off of. He couldn't remember his own father, but Jack recalled watching fathers and sons through the years. Maybe their relationship was actually similar.

Jack rushed forward and embraced North. While he could't reach his arms completely around the man, it was fine. He missed North. He missed Toothiana and Sandman and Bunnymund. There was so much emotion in him, ready to burst forth but he couldn't release it.

North rested a gentle hand on his back.

"We will see you soon, Jack."

When Jack released North, he turned to Jamie and Sophie. A bright, hearty laugh and a tight one-armed embrace for the both of them. He told them he was proud neither had made the naughty list that year and they had special gifts waiting for them for the morning. He was excited for the Christmas party and yes, Jamie could bring his fiancée. North was more than excited to meet her!

North bid his farewell, he had to keep moving and was behind. Jack slumped on the couch. Seeing North really brought forward what he had been feeling for way too long. The yearning to see his fellow Guardians. The pain of missing them. His heart was aching and his eyes stung.

A hand was on his shoulder. Gentle arms wrapped around him. He clutched on to Sophie's arm and met Jamie's gaze. It hurt  _way_  more than he thought it would.

Jack slept on the couch that night. He had trouble sleeping. He could only keep thinking of how much he missed the Guardians.

In the morning, the family sat around the tree. Jack wasn't sure how welcome he was. Christmas was family time. He was pulled in to their little semi-circle and sat in front of his tiny pile of gifts. Didn't he get enough for his birthday? That was only four days ago.

Jack was glad he received only significant and practical gifts. And it only took forever and a million years for Jack to figure out what to get Jamie, Sophie, and Susan. Jack had gotten Jamie a typewriter. Yeah, it actually was a good chunk of money, but Jamie would use it and that was what mattered. And he loved it. For Sophie, he got her a new easel. Her old one was falling apart and she more than often had to draw or paint on the floor. Jamie and Jack also informed her that the spare room that they had was hers now. She could use it as her studio instead of trying to draw in her cramped room.

Susan was tough, though. She was like Jack in the sense that she only wanted what she needed. She had learned that practicality was the only thing that mattered when you didn't have much money. She spent any frivolity money on her children. They didn't always get what they wanted, and she felt terrible she couldn't offer that to them. But she made sure they had what they needed. In turn, she rarely bought anything for herself.

So, Jack figured she could be indulged just a bit and bought her a necklace. It was made of recycled glass and the colors in it were shaped like a tree with a beautiful array of colors that represented family. The slip of paper that came with it read: "Like the roots of a tree, family nourishes and encourages us to grow to limitless possibilities. The Tree of Family reminds us that no matter how far we branch out as individuals, our family is always there for support, for encouragement and above all for love."

There was one more gift that had rolled to the back of the tree. Sophie crawled into the corner and pulled it out. It was for Jack. Jack opened it and grinned, holding up a snowglobe.

"That's pretty. Who's that from?" Susan questioned.

"North." Jack looked from Jamie and Sophie. "Looks like this is our ride."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Baaaw Jack, it's okay! The Guardians miss you, too!


	23. Chapter 23

Jack spent the next two days distracting himself as much as possible. Back to work. Read the books he had got. Tried his hand at Jamie's video games. Stop fidgeting. You might be excited for the party, but you'll get nothing done if you don't stop thinking about it. And you're just confusing yourself when you try and make sense of what Cupid said. Stop it.

There was just so much conflict going on within Jack. It was clear to Jamie and Sophie, too. He tried to hide it. He tried his best to brush it all off. The night they were getting ready, Jamie took him aside and asked him what was going on. Jack tried to tell him it was just the party. He was anxious and anticipating the day ahead.

Jamie accepted that much. But when he tried to press further, Jack quickly changed the subject. When were they leaving? Should he wear his Jack Frost clothes for kicks and carry around his staff? Jack laughed and Jamie frowned, knowing her wasn't going to get anywhere with the boy.

Jamie had worked out the time they needed to leave. 1:00 am would get them to Siberia by noon. He hoped. Jack shrugged. He really never paid attention to time or anything like that. He would just hop across the globe when it was time to collect Jamie and Sophie for the party. They usually were sleeping most of the time.

They all made sure to try and get in a quick nap. Well, Jack tried. He hadn't been sleeping well for almost a week. Not with everything he needed to think about. He figured he'd be fine.

Time to go. Jamie had linked arms with Laura who was accompanying them for the first time. She was bouncing, quite happy and excited. Jack smirked and shook the snowglobe, instructing it to take them to North's Workshop.

Walking through the portal, Jack felt a shock to his senses. The brightness that poured through the window along with the cool air projected by the ice on the walls. Waiting for their arrival was a yeti.

"Phil!" Jack raised his arm in greeting. "Long time, no see!"

It took the yeti a moment to realize that the boy in front of his  _really_  was Jack Frost. He looked so different from the winter spirit, but still carried the same air about him. Once over the initial shock, Phil lifted Jack by his hood to meet his gaze with a glare. Jack smirked.

This was their game. It had went on for a good two centuries. Jack tried to break into the workshop and Phil would kick him out. Once Jack was accepted as a Guardian, Phil still kept a close eye on him. It was a game.

The yeti threw Jack over his shoulder and Jack felt the wind get knocked out of him. Oh, man, Phil was stronger than he remembered. Jack heard Laura gasp out in alarm, but Jamie and Sophie assured he was alright. Phil led them to the Globe Room, where North entertained his party guests. Just at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the room, Phil dropped Jack and the boy landed on his toes in a couch.

"Good seeing you, too, Phil." Jack laughed. He grabbed Sophie's hand and ran up the stairs, way to excited to take anything slow. At the top of the stairs, he saw them.

Toothiana was sending out orders to her mini-selves. Bunnymund was arguing with North, as per the norm. Sandman was seen taking cup after cup of eggnog that a yeti offered him.

Sophie squealed and ran towards the Pooka. He became distracted from his argument when the girl threw herself at him.

"Bunny!"

"Ankle-biter!"

Sophie had distracted the Guardians enough that Jack was able to get behind Toothiana. The queen smiled and greeted the girl that reached for her hand to grasp. Bunnymund held Sophie in a tight embrace. They had shared a bond. Sophie was closest to the Guardian of Hope.

Toothiana said her hellos, then turned to a fairy to quickly give an order before looking for the other guests. Jack grabbed her by the elbow with a chuckle. "Tooth, do I have to tell you every years it's okay to take a break?"

Her feathers perked upon the sight of him. She gasped and tackled him in a hug. He spun to steady their momentum and he laughed. "I missed you, too, Tooth."

She released him and darted around him, her fairies gasping and twittering around the boy. They were taking in his changes. This was the first time Toothiana was seeing him like this. Human. He wondered which ones of her mini-selves had come to collect his baby teeth.

"Look at you, Jack!" Toothiana chirped. Sandman had approached him and Jack crouched to his level. They met with smiles. Sandman looked him up and down and gave him a satisfied nod, as if he was letting Jack know he approved of his choice.

Jack stood up, feeling as if he was glowing. He watched Toothiana who was still taking him in. "Your hair, your eyes, you skin, Jack!" Her fingers were in his mouth and he stumbled back, letting her take in his teeth. "Ah! They're beautiful!"

"Ah en aking ood air o en," Jack tried to speak through her fingers. She removed herself and he rubbed his jaw, chuckling. "I've been taking good care of them," he repeated. "I brush twice a day and floss every day and don't drink sugary drinks often and I use anti-bacterial and whitening mouthwash. I gotta keep them nice healthy, right?"

Toothiana covered her smiled with her hands. She seemed touched he actually wanted to take care of his teeth, even if there was a chance they might have never seen each other again. Jack wasn't certain if they would continue on with the Christmas parties, after all. They started with him. He was terrified they might end with him. He was so glad they kept up this tradition, even if it got in the way of their work.

One of Toothiana's fairies flew up to him. He instantly recognized her, even if she looked just like her sisters. "Baby Tooth!" he exclaimed, holding up a finger for her to land on. She squeaked with excitement and rested on the offered perch. He stroked her head and she nuzzled his cheek. He missed her. The fairy nestled herself in Jack's hood and he looked to the others.

Bunnymund, North, Sandman, and Toothiana turned to him. They seemed speechless, but in a good way. That they were glad to see him after so long and they were happy to see he was doing well. It may have only been a couple of months, but to Jack it felt like years.

"Oh!" Jack turned their attention from himself to Jamie and Laura. He danced behind Laura and put his hands on her shoulders. "This is Laura."

"She can see us?" Toothiana asked, shocked, her head tilted slightly.

Laura nodded, grinning. She seemed anxious and excited all at once. She wasn't sure where to look first. Jack pointed to each Guardian as he introduced them. "That's Tooth, those little fairies around her are her Baby Teeth. There's Bunny. Don't let the accent fool you, he really is a bunny. Sandy. He doesn't talk much, but he's really friendly. And North. Don't let him intimidate you, he's just a softy full of cookies." Jack nodded and pushed Laura forward towards them. "Guys, this is Laura. She's Jamie's fiancée."

If the fact that Laura could see them shocked them the first time. The fact that Jamie was  _marrying_  this girl really sent them reeling. Wasn't it just yesterday that Jamie was twelve and helping the elves test the toys? When did he get old enough to get married?

They were quick to shake the shock and greet her warmly, offering her food or drink. Toothiana had especially made Laura feel welcome when she brought up her baby teeth and how adorable they were. She explained that her father was a dentist, so he made sure her teeth were in good shape.

Sophie had been clinging to Bunnymund's back the entire time. He paid her no mind, as if it was the most natural thing in the world for a twenty year old girl to be stuck on him. She only released him when he offered her a bipedal egg. She gasped and slipped off of him, taking the eggs and marveling at the new, unique pattern.

North had approached Jamie, clapping his back in congratulations. Jack overheard North telling Jamie that he used to be a bit of a heartbreaker in his youth. Perhaps North could give him a few pointers when it came to marriage and how to deal with her when a problem arose. First thing: Women are always right.

Jack figured he should file that away. Okay. Women are always right.

Jack grinned when he was suddenly face-to-face with warm golden eyes and a sleepy but curious smile. Jack translated the glyphs that danced above Sandman's spikes of hair. "What's it like?" Sandman nodded.

Jack was well aware that the composer of dreams had never been necessarily human. He had come from a far off world in a shooting star. He was from a time even before the Man in the Moon. The man was always curious about humans, their wishes and dreams, their actions and abilities, and food as well if the cookie in his hand was any indication.

"It's… it's hard," Jack admitted. "Without magic, everything just seems so much more difficult. Even walking was weird at first. I just… I feel heavy. There's a lot of people who are distrustful and fearful of a kid who seemed to have cropped up out of nowhere. I've been lucky. Really lucky. Jamie and Sophie's mother is the best person in the world. She's helped me a lot. Jamie and Sophie are there whenever I need them. Just… adjusting is difficult.

"Being human isn't as easy as they make it look. There's so much more than just what's on the outside. Kids aren't always playing or dreaming, adults aren't always hard working, there's just so much that I've never seemed to grasp until I was within their reach, you know? I always thought when I saw humans going about their lives, they all took it in stride but they're struggling. I guess I've just been viewing the world like a child would all these years…" Jack shrugged. Baby Tooth put a hand on his cheek to try and ease him.

"The worst part is missing you guys." Jack smiled wryly. Sandman put a hand on his forearm as a gesture of comfort. "But the best part is…" Jack's grin transformed into one that was so bright, it caught Sandman off guard. "All the children can see me! Sandy, it's amazing. I can play with all of them. And there are these three triplets that are so much trouble, I'm the only one that sort of has a handle on them. And Sandy, the people I've met! They're some of the most amazing people. I never would have gotten the chance if not for this. And… and…"

Jack found himself looking towards Sophie who was animatedly telling a story about Bunnymund to Laura. She was so happy that Laura could finally meet him.

"Jamie and Sophie are just… I'm glad I can stay with them. Without them, I probably would have just… faded." Jack looked back to Sandman. The stout man sighed deeply and pat his bicep. He offered a smile that told Jack he was happy for him, but at the same time the Guardians missed him.

Jack struggled to translate the symbols. He tried several times before reading "You will have to tell us everything. We all want to hear of your new adventures."

Jack nodded. "Of course!"

They were soon pulled into a game. A race around the workshop! Uhh… Jack wondered if North remembered there were humans that could not quite travel like the Immortals until North summoned yetis that drove up in hover crafts. Fresh inventions from Santoff Clausen! Jamie and Laura hopped in one, Jack and Sophie in the other.

"Jack, are you sure you want to drive?" Sophie asked, searching for a seatbelt. There weren't any.

"It's fine!" He assured her.

It was wasn't fine. At least, not in Sophie's book. Baby Tooth was on her side.

The race started and they shot off! Sandman in a Dreamsand race car, Bunnymund bound around the set course, Toothiana zipped right to the front, North had no problem running to keep up (which was surprising for his size). Jamie expertly maneuvered the hovercraft. Jack, not so much. But if Sophie drove, they would have lost for sure!

Jack was reckless and jerky in his driving. He passed North and Jamie and Laura. The wing nicked a support beam and they spun out of control before Sophie took control of the wheel and evened them out. She ducked under the dashboard and secured herself when Jack too the controls back.

"Aw, come on, Soph! You're gonna miss all the best parts sitting under there." Jack laughed.

"Keep your eyes on the road!" she shrieked.

Yeah, yeah. Three laps. Jack and Bunnymund taunted each other when the other passed. Just as they crossed the finished line, Jack turned the wheel and tried to stop. The hovercraft barreled and Jack and Sophie fell out of the ship and landed hard on the floor. Baby Tooth had been quick to escape Jack's hood right before they crashed.

Fourth place. They managed to get fourth place behind Toothiana, Sandman, and North. Bunnymund came in fifth and Jamie and Laura were last.

Jack helped Sophie up after assessing that she was okay. They both fell into a fit of laughter, she punched his arm, and scolded him for being an awful driver. "Jamie can teach you to drive! I'm staying out of a car if you're behind the wheel!"

"Aw, come on, that was fun!"

She punched him in the gut and he brought her face into his chest to close the distance and prevent her from causing any more damage. He surveyed the scene. North lifted Toothiana in congratulations and her fellow Guardians cheered. Jack raised and fist and whooped for her.

The afternoon was spent playing more games and having more competitions. Jack was reasonably distracted from his thoughts. Right here and now, he was with his whole family. He was reminded every now and again that he was powerless when someone seemed to have forgotten or when they brought up an event. But that was okay. He was perfectly fine, brushing it off with laughter and a quip at their expense.

Jack was still  _very_  competitive against Bunnymund. At first, Bunnymund wasn't sure if he should go easy on Jack and Jack knew it. He took advantage of the Pooka's hesitance, only to prove he had other tricks up his sleeve. He didn't need magic to keep up.

The competitions became more Bunnymund vs. Jack. At least, that's how the two of them saw it. There would be Bunnymund vs. North every so often and Sandman would sneak in there to take the prize. Toothiana and Sandman were actually quite evenly matched. Since the others were distracted, they usually stole first.

Jamie, Laura, and Sophie stood no chance and they knew it. They had fun anyway. But even they took a competition or two.

When the sky turned red, they sat down for a feast. The yetis prepared a large table of food. Yes, the Immortals didn't necessarily need to eat, but it was good to indulge for the flavor. It also helped when humans were guests at the party. Jack greedily stuffed his face with the delicious food in front of him.

He listened while Laura questioned the Guardians.

"Why are the yetis still working? Weren't they invited to the party?"

"They had their party on the twenty-fifth." North replied. "It's a day off and a celebration for all."

"Except you drink too much eggnog and sleep all day," Jamie grinned.

"Well, yes, I deserve it!"

"Jamie said their used to be other Guardians." Laura continued. "Who were they again? Mother Goose and… um…."

"Ombric, Katherine, and Nightlight," Bunnymund nodded. "Yeah, they were right-good Guardians. I should check up on them…" he added as an afterthought.

"Why aren't they Guardians still?" Laura asked.

"Ombric and Katherine are trying to expand Santoff Claussen." North explained. "Nightlight followed Katherine. But, I believe at the moment he is with Manny."

"I told you I met a wizard there!" Jack pointed to Jamie. "You didn't believe me!" Hold up. "Wait, Ombric was a Guardian?"

"Indeed! Very long time ago." North nodded. "Is a long story. Very long story. I've told Jamie, you can ask him."

"You should invite them next year," Jamie suggested. "I'd love to meet them."

"That's a great idea!" Toothiana chirped. "I haven't seen Katherine in ages!"

"Speaking of Guardians," North rubbed his chin. "Did Jamie tell you how he saved us?"

Laura quirked her head and furrowed her brows. "No, he did not."

"What are you talking about?" Jamie shook his head. "And what does that have to do with the Guardians?"

"Jamie is the Guardian of the Guardians." Sophie chipped in. "My big brother helped stop Pitch while I almost ruined Easter."

"Why does that not surprise me?" Laura asked, chuckling.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Sophie cried out.

"Ffft," Laura snickered before scooting closer to Jamie. "So, how did you save the Guardians?"

"I didn't."

"Liar," Jack coughed.

"Aw, Jamie, don't be modest!" Tooth waved her hands towards him. "Tell her, tell her!"

"There's nothing to tell," Jamie shrugged.

"I will tell!" North announced. "You know about the time when Pitch attacked?"

Jack rolled his eyes. He had been trying to tell Laura of Jamie's feats for ages. The man would always stop him and insist he didn't do anything.

"Yeah," Laura nodded. "Pitch Black, the Boogeyman, wanted to be believed in, like you guys. He resented you. So, he hit you all one by one until you fell. Tooth was first, then Sandy, and finally Bunny. It was because of Jack you were able to take him down."

"Jamie refuses to take any credit," Jack explained. "He sees is all as superheros or something."

"'Cause to me, you guys were." Jamie frowned.

"And you were to us," North said, causing Jamie to fall silent. "Jamie. You were the last child to believe in us. Without you, Pitch would have won and we would not be here. You stood up to Pitch. You protected those that were supposed to protect you. You stood in front of us when we could not fight for you, but Rachmaninoff knows we would have protected you regardless."

"He also turned Nightmare Sand into Dreamsand." Jack added. "He brought Sandy back after we lost him." Sandy nodded, giving Jamie a warm smile.

Laura grabbed Jamie by the arm and shook him. "Jamiiiiiiie! Why didn't you tell meeeeeee? I'm going to marry a hero and I wasn't going to know about it?!"

Jamie covered his face. "I wasn't alone, you know! Cupcake, Pippa, Monty, Claud and Caleb were there, too."

"You were the last to believe and the first to stand up for us." Jack nodded. "You were their leader."

"No, I just—"

"Accept it, mate," Bunny folded his arms. "You are a hero. Don't be modest about it."

Jamie was quite humble about his past. Jack would often try and remind Jamie just how important his role was when the subject was brought up, but nothing Jack said got through to him. Jack was sure even with all the Guardians telling him how much of a hero he was, he wouldn't believe it. Maybe Toothiana should use Jamie's tooth box to remind the man just how exceptional he was.

When night fell, the humans were getting tired. They settled in front of the fireplace in the Globe Room. Sophie had fallen asleep against Bunnymund. Jamie and Laura did well with keeping up and active. Jack kept himself awake only because the Guardians had asked him to tell them about what he had been up to. They wanted to catch up. So, Jack told them. Jamie and Laura would add to the stories if they were present in that specific one.

When he had finished, he looked around to the Guardians. "So… it's been quiet?"

He didn't expect any danger to crop up over the past few months. All had been well for almost eighteen years. There was no sign of danger or evils that threatened the children. They confirmed his assumptions and he sighed in relief.

Today went by way too fast for Jack. He felt as if time was cheating him. During the months he was away from them, it felt like decades had passed. But in the few short hours he had with them, it went by like seconds. It wasn't fair.

They said their goodbyes and Jack felt himself blinking back tears. He embraced Toothiana tightly, felt his ribs cracking when North crushed him, Sandman took his hand in both of his gently and gave him a comforting smile, and shook Bunnymund's hand, a paw placed on his shoulder. There were promises of seeing each other next year. Jack was always welcomed back. Toothiana had to hold Baby Tooth back to stop her from going with Jack.

Jack pulled Sophie onto his back. She made herself comfortable and he took one last look at the Guardians. A year seemed so long. Too long. They were just as sorry to see him go as he was to leave.

When they got home, Jamie and Laura went right to bed. It was sometime in the morning, they weren't quite sure when and nobody bother with looking at a clock. It would just make them feel worse. All of them could barely stand. Jack was surprised he even had the strength to carry Sophie. Jack dropped Sophie into her bed and pulled a blanket over her. As he turned to leave, something stopped him.

He looked back, Sophie's fingers pinched the hem of his sweatshirt.

"You can stay if you need to," she mumbled, her eyes still closed and her chin snuggling up into the blankets.

She knew when he was in pain. She always did. When the longing for Immortality came back, when the pain of missing the world he had given up bit at him, when dreams of his time as a Guardian made him wish to return. She could sense it. She could tell when something was bothering him, even when he tried to hide it.

Honestly, it didn't happen often. But being in that world he was so familiar with…

"I shouldn't…." Jack said half-heartedly. He wanted to. He did.

"You've been acting so strange lately," Sophie sighed, looking up at him. "Since you met that Immortal. Did they say something about you giving up being a Guardian?"

Jack's jaw tightened and he refused to meet her gaze. He looked to the door and shook his head. "No… he was just happy that I didn't fade."

"Well," Sophie stifled a yawn. "I am, too." Her grip tightened and she pulled at his sweatshirt. "And whatever they said that got to you… don't listen to them, okay? Whatever they said, it's your life. Live it how you want to. Don't follow others expectations, unless it's something you want to do. You're Jack Frost damn it. You do what you very well please. You have been for three centuries, you're not gonna stop now because some fool said something that bothers you, right? Forget what they said."

… She was right. She said  _exactly_  what he needed to hear. Cupid's words and games didn't matter. He'd probably never see him again. Jack was going to do what he wanted. If he was entertainment for some jerk, so what? He was living his life.

He sat on the bed and she wrapped her arms around his torso. "I hope we can see the Guardians again soon. I missed them."

Jack stroked her hair and nodded numbly. "Yeah. Me, too."

His throat felt tight. The emotion he felt was suddenly overwhelming. He curled in on himself and held a hand over his eyes, the other clutched on to Sophie's arm. He already missed them. He didn't want to wait a whole year to see them.

He was tired. He didn't have the energy to hold back the tears that wet his face. Sophie sat up and used her sleeve to wipe them away. She pulled him into her shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her. She comforted him. For the first time, his tears did not turn into ice. They were hot and salty. The feeling left him curious, but the pain was still so distracting.

The Guardians were his first friends. His first family. Even if they only took notice of him when the Man in the Moon brought him to their attention, they were still there for him. They eased his loneliness after three hundred years of solitude. He didn't think he had been able to thank them enough for that.

His bond with them ran deep. Much deeper than he realized until he left. With them, he didn't think about it. It was easy to stay distracted with them.

But Sophie was there. And Sophie wasn't going anywhere.


	24. Chapter 24

"How did you guys get the dragon into the apartment?"

Sophie had just gotten home from a long, tiring day at work. She had been let off an hour late and when she got home, the small get-together was in full swing. Jack, Merida, Hiccup, and Rapunzel were waiting for her. And Toothless.

It was New Years Eve. And even if Sophie was all partied out, she was fine with just hanging out with her friends to bring in the New Year. Jack had no problem entertaining their guests. Jamie was out with Laura at a party one of their friends from school were throwing.

It was about ten thirty and Sophie greeted with a boisterous ruckus, loud music, and the television blaring. Toothless roared from his place in her studio that opened up into the living room. Jack was lounging on the couch. When she arrived, he lept up and leaned against her.

"Sophie!" He held her tightly, feeling dizzy. Man, why was this familiar? "I think Merida put something in our drinks."

"Awww, wee lamb. Can't hold your liquor?" Merida laughed.

Jamie had left them alcohol. He said they were free to drink as much as they pleased. Jack had tried to stay away from it. He did. Merida was quick to pour herself a glass. She explained that her mother had told her not to drink tonight, so that's what she was going to do. She was almost eighteen and it was legal back in Scotland. Hiccup was drinking because his father told him to. Maybe if he had a story to tell, his father would actually pay attention to him. Rapunzel was with Jack on this one. She was timid to go anywhere near it.

Jack spent most of the night with Rapunzel. They snickered and giggled, watching Hiccup get drunk for the first time. He wasn't quite sure how to handle himself. He explained that he liked to be in control. This wasn't control.

Merida was having a blast. She pressured Rapunzel into trying something she mixed up. The girl actually liked it. It didn't taste like alcohol. So, Merida continued to make the brunette drinks and she winded up laying on top of Toothless, idly painting patterns on the dragons scales with Sophie's paints.

Jack still tried to avoid the substance. Until Merida offered to get everyone drinks and told Jack it was just fruit punch.

"Jack," Sophie chuckled. "It's okay. Sit down."

"I'm not talking too much this time!" Jack told her proudly.

"Ya're still talkin' a lot." Merida slurred.

"What's that?" Jack cupped his hand over his ear. "Speak up, I can't understand you."

"Sophie!" Rapunzel called from on top on Toothless. The dragon really did not look amused at her antics, but let her go about her business. Jack was shocked with how she handled animals. She was a lot like those princesses in Disney movies that sung to the animals and they did their bidding. Only she didn't sing to Toothless. She treated him like a puppy. "Come paint with me!"

"Rapunzel!" Sophie called back. "I don't think Toothless is happy with his new color!"

"Aww, you're fine, aren't you big boy?" She scratched the top of Toothless's head and he melted under her touch, wagging his tale with contentment.

Hiccup nursed his cup and watched. "You know. You're the only one that can make him act like a dog."

"Aw, but Toothy is just a big sweetheart." Rapunzel cooed.

Jack was reminded of Toothiana and North's occasional nickname for her. "Toothy! I miss Tooth. It's only been a few days, but I really miss her. And North. And Bunny. And Sandy. Baby Tooth, too! Sophie, did you manage to nab a snowglobe? Maybe we can go see North and he can summon the others. North was curious about Toothless! He'd be excited to see Toothless!" Jack frowned and looked over Hiccup, Rapunzel and Merida. "But you losers wouldn't be able to see them. Laaaaaame."

"Jack, sit down," Sophie laughed. "You're going to hurt yourself."

Hurt himself? Naaaaaaah. "I'll be fine." Jack assured her. "I've been staying away from the dragon that doesn't like me like you asked. I'll just stay away from Toothless and not drink anything Merida gives me and I'l be good, right?"

"Jack," Merida rolled her eyes. "It's the New Years. You're supposed to get stupid drunk."

"Why is everyone so set on getting me drunk?" Jack asked, dropping into a seat on the floor and shaking his head. "First Jamie, now you. I don't get it."

Merida snickered. "Because you're so against it."

"I'm a Guardian of Childhood! It's immoral of me to partake in adult things like that!" Jack pointed to her. "Like… like alcohol and smoking and… and… shit…" Jack fell back into the carpet and scowled at the ceiling. This wasn't like when Jamie gave him drinks. This was much more dizzy and confusion inducing. "What did you even give me?"

"Are you supposed to curse?" Hiccup asked.

"No." Jack replied flatly. "I'm not supposed to curse, either. I only started when Jamie got older. Sophie, Jamie's a horrible influence."

"Like you were any better?" Sophie asked, taking off her uniform apron and sitting on the arm of the couch. "Mister Let's-Have-Fun-On-a-Mountain-Top-Come-On-It'll-Be- Fun-We'll-Go-Sledding. 'But Jack, it's too steep!' 'Nonsense, Sophie! Stop being a worry-wart!' I almost broke my arm!"

"You were fiiiiine." Jack waved his arm.

"Jamie sprained his wrist." Sophie said bluntly.

"You guys knew being friends with me was a hazard. I did knock a tooth out of Jamie."

"Quit bickering, start drinking." Merida shoved a cup in Sophie's hand. Sophie smiled at her and Jack wasn't sure if it was for the drink offered to her. It seemed polite.

Sophie left to get dressed and Jack crawled towards Hiccup. Hiccup hadn't said much. He leaned against the wall, watching Rapunzel paint Toothless with a rather bored stare. Or was it empty? He had been pretty quiet since Merida put the first drink in his hand. Jack pushed himself to sit right beside him.

"You good?" Jack asked and took the drink from the boy.

Hiccup sighed and leaned his head back. "Yeah." he said simply. "Been traveling with Toothless a lot. I'm tired."

Jack sat grinned and got on his knees. Traveling?! He should have asked Jack what wonders he should see! Jack began to list and describe some of the more amazing places. He tried to describe where Santoff Clausen was because Hiccup should visit there and Ombric the Wizard would probably like to see Toothless.

Hiccup listened with interest. He gave a smile that seemed to have a secret hidden behind it, which kind of bothered Jack. Jack felt like they had gotten pretty close. All of them did. Their apartment was the get-away, their own world where the six of them could share their fantastic secrets.

But it wasn't just Hiccup. Merida and Rapunzel still hadn't told their own. Nobody pressed each other. If they wanted to keep secrets, Jack supposed that was in their right. He supposed he was keeping a secret, too. Maybe. Yeah, kind of.

Him and Sophie were a secret, right?

Why didn't anyone want to share their secrets? he wondered.

"Am I drunk yet, Jack?" Hiccup asked. Jack looked him up and down. It was hard to tell. But he wasn't slurring. He was still pretty cognitive. Jack had seen drunk. Jamie was not a pretty drunk.

"No."

"Give me my drink back."

Jack got up and walked away with the cup. Hiccup got up to follow him, but Jack dumped the cup in the bowl they set out for Toothless to drink from. There you go, big boy. Drink that up. It wouldn't do anything to a dragon, most likely. Their bodies didn't work like humans.

Hiccup frowned and Jack shrugged, offering to get him a soda. Jack watched Hiccup pet Toothless's snout. The dragon seemed to disapprove of his friend's behavior. In the kitchen, Jack saw Merida pouring herself another glass from a punch bowl she mixed.

"… Merida, what exactly is that?"

"Jungle juice."

"And that is….?"

Merida took a sip and leaned against the counter. "Pretty much a mix of everything Jamie got us drowned in fruit punch. Ya can't feel it at first. It'll hit ya later." She frowned thoughtfully. "At least that's what Jamie said."

Jack opened the fridge and retrieved a can of soda. There was something about the way she was carrying herself. As if she wasn't actually all that interested in the destructive behavior she said she wanted to do. "Does you mother really bother you that much?"

Merida made a noise of annoyance. "She wants me to be a lady like her. She won't let me be myself. 'If you're going to take over your father's business, you need to start acting like an adult.' Maybe she should let me be a kid first, you know?"

_At least you can remember your mother._

Suddenly, there was a heavy silence between them. Merida's eyes were wide and he covered his mouth. "Sorry. That wasn't supposed to be out loud."

"Jack… 'M sorry. I didn't…"

Jack shook his head. "No, no, it's okay! Sorry. Just…" He sighed and leaned against the fridge. "You know, you and Hiccup have parents that love and care about you. Even if they don't have a great way of showing it, they really just want what's best for you. I'm not saying that what they want is always right. No, they think what they're doing is right. But… I dunno. You're just lucky to have them." He tugged at a lock of his hair in agitation. "It's really not my place to say, I guess. Just what I've observed over the years."

Merida pensively looked into her cup. She scowled and threw it back, drinking it in a few gulps before slamming the cup down. "I know, okay? But she's just so… so…"

Jack chuckled. "I know," he nodded. "You know, I think I was kind of like you guys when it came to the relationship with my mother. One thing I remember clearly is… She was telling me and my sister to be careful. And I just shook my head. It's like I heard it a million times, but paid her no mind. I didn't listen." He wouldn't mention that that was the last interaction he had with her before he drowned.

"So you have no right to lecture, eh?" Merida sat at the table and laid her head against it.

"Never said I did." Jack pushed away from the fridge and headed back into the studio. "Be careful, Merida."

Sophie had joined Hiccup in the studio, wearing her pajamas. She was stroking Toothless around the chin. It was clear she was still uneasy around the reptile. She smiled uncertainly. Rapunzel leaned over Toothless's head, giggling and covered in paint.

"Sophie, I don't know why you're so scared." she mused.

"Sophie's scared of everything." Jack explained, handing Hiccup the can of soda.

"Not everything!" she cried. "Just… heights… and spiders… and snakes… and going to fast… and people."

"And loud dogs and old people and clowns and cars and bugs and wild animals and crowds and—" Jack added helpfully.

"Shut up, you." Sophie pouted.

Suddenly, there was a loud gasp from Rapunzel. The three looked up to her. "This is my favorite song!" She squealed and slid off of Toothless. Rapunzel ran into the living room by the speakers that were blasting the music and spun around in excitement.

Merida had come in with a fresh glass of jungle juice. Rapunzel grabbed her and set the girl's cup down before spinning Merida and dancing with her. Rapunzel was actually… a pretty good dancer. Merida laughed and tried to keep up.

Sophie's jaw dropped. "She can draw and paint.  _And_  she can sing and dance. She's pretty and sweet and how is any girl supposed to keep up with that?! She's perfect!"

Sophie was self conscious? This was news to Jack. Yes, she wasn't exactly confident. Actually, she had zero confidence and anyone that she spoke to could tell you that. You could look at her from across the room and you could just see how very timid and shy she was. The only thing she was sure of was art. That was it.

But was that really the only thing she thought she had going for herself?

"Don't worry," Hiccup said. "If you're worried about guys, she doesn't seem interested in dating. And really, 'perfect' isn't always what a guy is after." Hiccup shrugged. "Besides, aren't you covered?"

Sophie's face burned. Jack furrowed his brows. What was he talking about?

"It's not about guys! It's just…" she pulled her short hair in front of her face and tugged it taut. "Girls with confidence issues seeing girls like her make us feel small."

"Well, you are kind of…" Hiccup motioned her height. "Five feet. Yeah, about, right?"

"You aren't helping."

Jack moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her stomach and rested his chin on his head. "You're perfect, see? Just the right height for me to rest here." He coughed when an elbow met his gut and he held his stomach in pain. What was that for?!

"Sophie!" Rapunzel pulled the girl by the hands. "Come on!"

Jack watched as Rapunzel forced Merida and Sophie into a dance. They followed her lead and Jack felt himself grinning at the smile that was growing on Sophie's face. She danced and her and Rapunzel screamed the lyrics in each others faces, holding imaginary microphones. Rapunzel jumped on Merida's back and the red-head spun to dizzy the girl.

Jack turned to Hiccup and smirked. He grabbed the boy and pulled him in to the crowd and the girls laughed when they joined them. Both were awkward, both were clearly not anywhere near as graceful as Rapunzel and even Merida. Merida complained that her mother had forced her into dance lessons in her youth.

Rapunzel had been taking ballet since she was three.

Even though none of them were quite as talented as Rapunzel, they had fun. They sang and danced, Jack invented some games to help pass the time (the alcohol really effecting him at that point), and finally settling down around eleven forty five to turn the television up and the music down.

They sat in front of the television, all of them wrapped in blankets from one of Jack's crazy games, and three out of five of them drunk. Merida insisted on making one of Jack's games a drinking game. Jack made sure to win and Sophie pretended she had vodka in her soda. Jack felt considerably sober and as far as he knew, Sophie hadn't had as much as a sip. He was glad he warned her of the jungle juice just before she was about to drink it.

Sophie sat between his legs and leaned her back against his chest. He had a blanket wrapped around them, feeling the chill from the window they opened to cool down. Jack snuggled against her. Merida and Hiccup sat back to back and Rapunzel sprawled out on the floor, humming an unfamiliar tune.

"We should go there next year." Merida commented, pointing to the screen. "It looks fun."

New York City was displayed. A glittering ball gleaming with incandescent lights illuminated the night. The camera panned out over hundreds of people, all waiting for the ball to drop on it's flag pole. Jack remembered when they started this tradition. It wasn't as exciting as it looked. Yes, there was music and concerts, but the crowds always looks too cold or drunk or both.

"Yeah, if you don't like personal space and if you do like frostbite." Hiccup replied sarcastically. "My mom thought it would be a good idea, too. I spent most of the night crying on my dad's shoulders and shivering."

"That's 'cause the little lamb is so tiny. Ya should get some meat on your bones." Merida pinched his cheek.

He flinched away from her. "Not like I haven't tried, you know."

"SHH SHH!" Rapunzel scrambled to sit up. "It's starting!

"We have like five minutes—" Hiccup tried to reason but was promptly shushed.

They watched the screen. The reporter seemed to drone on with faux excitement about the oncoming year. They continued to talk about which celebrities were there and showed scenes from across the globe. Jack could care as much as she did. A New Year wasn't anything special for him. It never had been.

New Years always just served to remind him just how long it had been since he was created. He remembered when he stopped paying attention for a while and just happened to miss a decade. Celebrations like this weren't special. Time was irrelevant.

Until now.

But he just couldn't shake the habit. The apathy of it all was just astounding. This party pretty much just served as another get together with his friends. A party for whatever reason. But mortals were finite. They had an expiration date, so they made a habit of throwing huge parties to remind themselves they were one year closer to it. Actually, two. Birthdays were included. And Jack could never understand why they kept track of years. Perhaps for historical records. That had to be it.

Jack rested his chin on Sophie's shoulder. She leaned her head back on his. They were comfortable like this. They enjoyed the closeness and the coziness the other had to offer. He was tempted to kiss her neck, but something stopped him. He wanted to see her reaction again. It had to be the presence of Merida, Hiccup, and Rapunzel that prevented him.

" _Ten!_ "

The countdown was starting. Wait. That's right. Jack had an expiration, too. What was the point of waiting for the "right moment?" He had to do this when he could.

" _Nine!_ "

He had to make the best of what he had left, right?

" _Eight!_ "

So, what was he waiting for?

" _Seven!_ "

"Sophie?"

"Hm?"

" _Six!_ "

His heart was pounding in his chest. He felt hot. His voice was low enough that only Sophie could hear him.

"You still love me, right?"

" _Five!_ "

"Of course I do." He felt rather than saw her smile. Her jaw tightened against his ear and she pulled her head up.

" _Four!_ "

What a relief. Well, of course he knew she still loved him. Cupid had told him so.

" _Three!_ "

"Good, 'cause I…"

" _Two!_ "

"…Um…"

" _One_!"

"I love you, too."

" _Happy New Year!_ "

They were suddenly shrouded in darkness. Sophie pulled the blanket over their heads and turned to face him. She pressed her lips against his and he was suddenly too hot. He didn't think the timing was exactly right. But, he must have done something correctly if he received this as a prize.

He grabbed her face and kissed her back eagerly. She pulled back and captured his lips once more before pulling away entirely. She seemed to  _glow_ through the darkness the blanket draped them in. In that moment, she was perfection. The smile he loved so much and eyes that shone with nothing but  _happiness_.

Jack had forgotten they weren't actually alone. Under the blanket, they were in their own world. A shrill cry of delight broke Jack from his wonder. Sophie left one more swift kiss on his lips and she dove away from him, pulling the blanket with her. She spread herself out in front of Hiccup, Merida, and Rapunzel, her face red and her smile even wider.

"Happy New Year!" she cried out. Rapunzel fell over her and Merida joined the pile. "It's 2030!"

That year already? Jack scrambled to his feet and ran to the kitchen. When he returned, he held an armful of pots, pans, a wooden spoon, some ladles and spatulas.

"Come on!" Jack picked up a pot and smashed a wooden spoon against it. "Let's go!"

They each picked up a pan and an instrument and followed Jack outside, screaming their heads off. Out in the courtyard, they ignored the cold and icy grounds, forgetting about coats or shoes. They made loud noises and chased each other obnoxiously. Merida scuttled up a tree and Jack and Hiccup tried to follow her. When they got close, she clashed her ladle and pot in their faces, causing them to fall back to the ground.

From the open window in their apartment, a white hot plasma black shot into the sky. They cheered Toothless as he roared, still in the apartment with only Pascal as company. Which, in Jack's opinion, was plenty company. The tiny chameleon was pretty loud in all his silence and was clearly protective of Rapunzel. Like a guard dog. But tiny.

Hiccup and Sophie were the first ones to complain about the cold. Sophie jumped on Jack's back when the ground became too cold for her to stand on and Hiccup was tempted to call for Toothless to shoot fire at him. Merida covered his mouth when he actually tried to and they went inside, breathless and cold.

Jack seemed like the only one that wasn't bothered by the cold, but, well, he was Jack Frost. None of them were surprised.

Rapunzel curled up on the carpet in front of the television and Pascal nestled into her neck. Jack watched her curiously as she stroked her short hair, humming that unfamiliar tune again. She muttered something to her lizard before curling in the blankets again and getting comfortable.

Merida stretched and prodded her with her foot. "Are ya tuckered out already, lass?"

"Today was fun," Rapunzel yawned and raised her arms into the air. "Best day everrrr!"

"How about one last swallae?" Merida offered.

Cups were passed around. Sophie took one and Jack followed her lead. They sat around in a circle and raised their red cups. Empty cans and cups were scattered around them, plates and utensils were discarded. Cleaning up was going to be a blast, but that would wait for the next day.

"It'd be nice if Jamie was here, yeah?" Merida said. "But I'd like ta say thanks. For stickin' 'round. We're quite a barry group, ain't we? I know we don't all see eye-to-eye. But we still have each others backs, right? I know not all of us have quite shared our stories. But ya all still accepted us." Rapunzel leaned on Merida's shoulder, holding her cup up next to the red-head's. "So, I guess this is a last toast to us. Jamie, too. We've only known each other a few months, but… it's been the best few months of my life. And that's not the jungle juice talkin'! I may be tanned, but I'm tellin' the truth! And it's not just the dragon," Merida glanced to Hiccup. "Or the Jack Frost," she eyed Jack. "I've never been one to really make friends. I've always been independent and happy. So… thanks. For forcing me into all this."

"We love you, Merida," Rapunzel cooed. "For all your stubbornness."

"And we love you, you mince-talking Gemma."

"What?" Rapunzel wasn't sure if she should have been insulted or not. Merida chuckled.

"So, to us?"

"To us," Hiccup agreed.

They rose their toast and drank to it. And afterwards, another. Jack wasn't sure if he should have kept drinking. It didn't feel right, and their three guests seemed to have had far too much already. But Sophie had some. And seemed to have taken the opportunity to snuggle with him after the second.

He wondered if it was an excuse for her to be close with him. He smiled down at her and she gave him a knowing grin. That had to be it. He wasn't sure they should let their friends in on their shared feelings just yet. But something told him they had an inkling.

Jack laid with Sophie on the couch where they joined in the boisterous conversations. The music was soon turned down, then off. Jack felt himself nodding off. He couldn't keep his eyes open. He closed them just for a moment and when he opened them, the living room was silent and dark.

He felt extra warm. A blanket and a body were piled on top of him. Jack brushed blonde away to look at the face of the sleeping girl. The others must have retired to the bedrooms. Jack looked back to see Toothless had made himself comfortable and was sleeping peacefully as well.

Jack wrapped his heavy arms around Sophie and squeezed her, pressing his lips to the top of her head.

"I love you," he whispered. "I love you." he said again, solidifying his statement. "I love you. I love you. I love you." How many times would be enough to make up for the lost years they could have had? He couldn't get enough now that he had said it out loud. "I love you. I love you. I love  _you_."

God, he felt dizzy. The drinks must have caught up to him in his sleep. He couldn't see straight and everything was kind of a blur. His whole body was tingling. He grinned like a fool. He almost wanted to wake her up and tell her. But no, that wouldn't be a good idea. Maybe. Nope. Bad idea, Jack.

Oh. Too late. A chin pressed on his chest and Jack looked down into green eyes and a broad smile. She looked tired and worn, ready to sleep at the drop of a hat. But she simply smiled at him  _oh so beautifully_. "Love you, too, Jack."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, the past two chapters have been a lot longer then I thought they would be. But that's it for the parties for now! Everyone's all partied out! I know I was when it came to that time of the season. I dunno about you guys.


	25. Chapter 25

Jamie had always been incredibly observant. Well, he had to pick up the habit when his little sister would get herself into trouble. She would wander off and he'd have to know where she was or see what she was up to. North had also taught him that it was an extremely important skill to ascertain. It would excellent to have a wonderlust and you could only really appreciate something when it was usually missed by the normal eye.

This made sure Jamie knew exactly what was up with his friends. Every body language movement was captured. Every lie was exposed. Everything they told him and everything they  _didn't_  tell him was out in the open. And he knew just how important these details were. Jamie could know when someone was dodging telling him something.

He never pressed the matter, though. He'd keep to himself if they had lied or if they avoided a certain subject. They had their own reasons for keeping information to themselves. Jamie was never one to ask about it. Once, he did. And he had lost a very close friend. He learned privacy was a key and when someone realized you valued it, your friendship could only grow stronger.

Jamie realized Rapunzel was keeping a secret. When her and Sophie would come to Sophie's studio to paint, she would sometimes sing this strange tune. He'd see her run a hand through her hair and frown. But she was quick to bring back a smile. Something about the tune and her hair had to be part of her secret.

Another thing about Jamie was that he enjoyed puzzles and riddles. He loved trying to work them out and expose what they meant.

He was totally stuck on trying to figure out Rapunzel's secret.

Merida knew that everyone knew she was keeping something to herself. He remembered she had mentioned Mor'du before. And her brothers had drawn a large bear with chalk during that first play date. That bear must have been Mor'du. When Jamie tried to research what exactly Mor'du was, he couldn't find anything. Not one thing. It must have been a local legend in her previous hometown. And Merida must have had some connection to it.

Hiccup had told Jamie everything. He had no problem sharing with the man. Hiccup was an open book, especially since Jamie was one that continuously inquired about dragons. Jamie was beyond fascinated with Hiccup's world. But, after a while, Jamie realized Hiccup may or may not have been telling him some things.

Several times, Hiccup would come into work, drenched. He no longer asked for rides from his father, instead he rode Toothless to and from work or school. Hiccup asked that if his father said anything about it, Jamie had been giving him rides. Jamie agreed.

Hiccup also seemed to come by with some sort of static around him from time to time. Hiccup's only explanation was that he would get caught in lightning storms. He and Toothless decided to travel the world and explore new places.

Jamie felt like there was a lot more behind it, but didn't say anything.

But one person he could always get something from was Jack. Jack wasn't very good at keeping secrets, especially when he wasn't made aware that they were supposed to be. Of course, if told he had to keep it, he would. No problem. It was just easier to see that he was lying.

He had realized Jack and Sophie had become… more open about their relationship. Something must have happened when Jamie wasn't paying attention. They were much closer than they ever had been, lately. They would openly give each other chaste kisses and hug for a little longer then friends would. Jamie found them cuddling and speaking in hushed tones.

Yeah. Something happened.

While he wouldn't confront their three friends, he was comfortable to confront these two. Especially since they shared an apartment and Jamie would like to know if he had to leave at times to give them whatever alone time they would like. He knew couples liked privacy. And, even if their relationship really wasn't beyond something innocent, it would be nice to be in on this.

Sophie was his sister, damn it. He was a protective big brother.

Jamie honestly had no problem if Jack wanted to be with her. If anyone was going to be in a relationship with Sophie, he was glad it was Jack. He knew Jack. Jack wouldn't do anything to hurt her. He was just as protective as Jamie and Jamie could certainly trust the former winter spirit as opposed to say… someone from her school whom he had never met before.

Jamie might honestly even have an issue if Hiccup saw her that way. Of course, he'd let it slide, but the fact still stood. He trusted Hiccup. But they'd only known each other for about five months. Yeah, the guy was a good kid. He'd be  _okay_  if Sophie wanted to date him. But Jamie would also watch that little shit like a hawk. One wrong move and he'd claim that Toothless ate him, that's why he disappeared.

Jamie wondered if he was the reason boys tended to stay away from Sophie. She never had a boyfriend. Then again… she never really had friends before. She never really seemed interested in  _dating_. She was always more interested in her art and seemed okay with just having Jamie and Jack as her friends. Since she was always considered weird and a loner and was bullied in school growing up. Burgess was a small town and once you were outcasted,  _you were outcasted_.

So, he supposed that he was in the clear for the reason behind her lack of relationships. No, it wasn't her fault either. She just  _wasn't interested_. Until now? Or… whenever their… whatever it was started.

"So, um, are you two a thing now, orrrrr….?" Jamie asked one day he had come home from work and found them cuddling on the couch and watching a movie.

Sophie scowled. "It's none of your business." This was her answer for everything that concerned her relationship with Jack. Why'd he kiss her? Why are you guys always snuggling? What's going on?

Jack smiled sheepishly, uncertain of how to reply. Jamie rolled his eyes. "You know, I don't care if you are. I'm just… you know. Your brother. And your best friend. And we're all roommates. And I like to be kind of in the loop about things." And he'd like to  _not_ be home if they decided to further their relationship. Since it was probably bound to happen whenever Jack got past his childhood phase and let go of being Jack Frost for good.

God, that would probably be really awkward for both of them.

Yeah, he really didn't want to be home.

Jack frowned and glanced to Sophie before looking to Jamie. "Well, there's… something." he admitted, squeezing the girl a bit. "Not really sure what to call it."

"Mmkay," Jamie nodded, satisfied. "That's all I wanted to know." Jamie glanced to the television and noticed they were watching one of his favorite movies. "Is it cool if I join you?"

"Since when do you have to ask?" Jack snickered.

Jamie made himself comfortable in an armchair and turned to the TV. Yeah, Jack was just the kind of person he wanted for his sister. Jack was his best friend, through and through. And, hey, if they lasted long enough, maybe they'd eventually be brothers.

— — —

March. The weather was warming up and Jack wasn't sure how to feel about it. He was sad, yes. He wished it was winter all the time. Then again, it seemed like a long reminder of what he used to be capable of. But it was such a  _fun_  season with so much to do and so much to keep up with. Jamie and Sophie had been kind enough to go along with his strange antics and game ideas to keep winter busy.

But winter was who he was. …  _Was_. He was no longer winter. He was just Jackson Overland Frost now. But it was hard to shake the habit of trying to form snowballs from nothing or put his magic into the snow to create a sense of  _fun_. If that was one thing Jack missed the most, it was that ability. He used to make people smile with just a snowflake. Now… well, it was much harder to accomplish. He still found a way. He would be silly or try and get them to join his games.

But the magic of fun was gone. And sometimes, it just felt so hollow.

Jack sat by the window in their apartment. It was wide open, allowing a cool breeze to waft over him. Outside, he watched as a woman put out a flower box in her window in the apartment complex across the the courtyard. The snow on the ground had finally melted.

Spring. He supposed it was a time for new beginnings, like Sophie and Bunnymund went on about. He tried hard to see it, but he was always winter. Cold and biting. Winter was death.

Maybe he'd see it now he was forced into a different perspective.

He already missed winter, though.

It was still cold.

"Jack, it'll eleven!" Jamie called from the other room. Jack got up and closed the window. It was time for work. Jack slipped on flip flops, grabbed his coat and headed out. Jamie had to remind him to grab his phone, as per habit the siblings had obtained. Jack could not or the life of him remember to take his cell phone with him. Or charge it. Or answer texts or check messages.

Jack and technology failed to get along.

At work, Jack as able to distract himself from the changing seasons. Work wasn't ever really  _work_. It was fun and the children loved him. There wasn't a single child he couldn't reach. He learned each of their names and what they all liked. Their favorite games, movies, snacks. He tried to make sure his games were personalized for each child.

He tried not to show favoritism with the triplets. He thought he did a pretty good job inside of the daycare. Of course, he was in charge of making sure they didn't cause too much trouble. All of the other workers tried Jack's methods, but couldn't quite do it like he could. He did try and teach them how to control the DunBroch brothers, he did.

He supposed the years of experience he had on them did help juuust a little. While he didn't have experience interacting with children, he did learn just what they wanted when they were being stubborn.

Late afternoon, parents and siblings would come to retrieve the children. He had gotten to know some of them. Chelsea's mother was a nurse and she simply adored Jack's charm. Kyle's father thought Jack was witty and an alright kid. Bonnie's grandmother wasn't sure if Jack was qualified for this job, but her husband figured Jack was doing just fine from what Bonnie said about him. Jason's sister and Marley's mother were friends. Marley's mom was around Jack's age and it always baffled Jack. He'd seen it often, yes. Young mothers. But this day in age, it was frowned upon and not that common. She seemed nice, though, and Marley was a good kid so Jack didn't see anything wrong with it.

Jason's sister and Marley's mother came to pick them up together, usually. Perhaps they went to school or something together. Jack left Jason and Marley into the foyer to meet with them when Jason's sister approached him.

"Hey," she smiled and brushed hair behind her ear. "I'm Lily."

"Hey, Lily." Jack grinned. "Jason drew you a picture today. Show her, Jason." He put a hand on the boy's back and he held up a paper.

Lily took it and beamed at him. "Wow, great job, Jason!" The boy took her hand and Lily looked back up at Jack. "He adores you. Does not shut up about you." She giggled. "It's cute, really."

Jack crouched to Jason's level and nudged his chin playfully. "Well, Jason's a really cool kid."

"Lily, I don't wanna go home." Jason tugged her arm. "I wanna stay and play with Jack."

"Don't worry," Jack ruffled his hair. "We'll play again tomorrow."

Jack stood up and Lily shuffled her feet. She told Jason to go ask Marley if she wanted to stay over that night and turned back to Jack when Jason left. Jack knew when someone wanted to talk to him. He just hoped he wasn't in trouble.

"Jack, um, are you free Saturday?" she bit her lip.

Huh? Jack thought for a moment. No, he didn't think he was doing anything Saturday. Did she want Jason to come over for a play date? Did Jason tell her about the times he'd play outside of daycare with the DunBroch triplets? Maybe Jason wanted to play, too.

Jack would have to make arrangements. He shook his head, giving her a polite smile. Behind her he saw the door open and glanced over. It was Sophie. She stepped in and noticed Jack and gave him a small wave.

What was she here for? He pat his pocket. He had his phone on him. Usually she would come by when she wanted to ask him something and make sure they were on the same page for the evening. Lisa understood Sophie and Jamie were responsible for him and it was fine by her.

She had that look. That look that told him how hopeless he was. Huh. Yeah, he must have forgotten something. He turned back to Lily. She was still talking to him.

"Do you… um…" Lily's face burned bright red and she rubbed her arm uncertainly. "Do you want to see a movie or something?"

"With Anna, Jason and Marley?" he asked. Anna was Marley's mother. Maybe she wanted to get in on it. "I can ask Merida, too and she can bring Harris, Hubert, and Hamish. Oh! Sophie doesn't work until the evening! Maybe she can come, too."

Lily only stared at him in shock. What? Was that not what she meant. "W-Who's Sophie?" she asked uneasily. Jack nodded towards Sophie who had struck up a conversation with June. Lily paled and bit her lip. "Is she your… um… girlfriend?"

"She's my best friend," Jack started, scratching his temple. "She's my roommate… and… huh. You know, I never thought about that. Soph!" The blonde turned to him. "Are you my girlfriend?"

Sophie blinked. "Well, Jack, if you want to talk labels, then yes. I'm your girlfriend."

"Oh." Jack hummed thoughtfully and turned back to Lily. "Labels. They just seem so superficial, don't you think?"

Lily didn't say anything. Her face burned brightly and Jack was taken aback. What? Was she embarrassed about something? She looked at the floor and shook her head. "Never mind. Sorry. Sorry." she quickly ran over to Anna and Jack was left totally in the dark.

What the hell just happened?

Sophie noticed that he was no longer occupied and walked over to him. "You forgot your phone." she commented, straightening his hoodie.

"No I didn't." He pulled out his phone. Sophie took it from him and hit a few buttons before showing him it was dead. "Oh. Whoops."

"Try and charge it tonight," she snickered, sticking it back in his pocket. "So, what was that about?"

Jack furrowed his brows and watched Lily and Anna quickly leave with their children. He wasn't quite sure what it was. "Um… I don't know. She asked to go to the movies this Saturday and I thought it was a play date for her brother. I suggested I brought Merida and the boys and then you. And-and then the asked if you were my girlfriend but I don't even—Sophie, I'm so confused."

Sophie covered her mouth, suddenly looking so sympathetic. Oh. He did something wrong. "Jack… oh, that poor girl. She was asking you on a date, Jack."

"A… play date?"

"No, Jack, a date-date. Like, dinner and a movie. Like, romantic date." Sophie explained. "Oh, my poor boy's a heart breaker!" She reached up and pinched his cheeks. He winced.

What. A romantic date? Like Jack even knew how to be romantic. He felt sorry enough for Sophie that he couldn't give her what Jamie gave Laura. He didn't know the first thing about romance and suddenly felt so  _awkward_  to think it was expected from him. Especially now.

"So… uh… girlfriend?" Jack wasn't sure how he felt about the label.

"We don't  _have_  to call it that, you know." she assured him. "For conventional reasons, though, we should probably say 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend,' right? Because that's what people who are together are called."

Jack rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, okay." But is just seemed too frivolous. What Jack and Sophie had was  _more_  then what those labels could ever suggest. He felt what they had was so unlike what he'd ever seen. It just felt so  _powerful_. It was stronger. He was sure.

But… was he in any place to say that? Not with Jamie and Laura as a comparison. Now what they had was  _strong_  and so unique.  _They_  were soulmates. They were perfect in all their love. So, how could Jack say what he and Sophie had was any different than what everyone else had?

"So, what did you want to do for dinner tonight?" Sophie asked.

Jack chewed on his tongue thoughtfully. "How about a date?" Sophie looked as if she hadn't quite heard him correctly. Jack blew air through his teeth and lip and shrugged. "Like what Jamie and Laura do. Get all fancy and go out for dinner. I can pay. It'll probably end horribly, but, um, let's try it."

Sophie giggled and grinned brightly. "Okay." she nodded. "I'll see you after work."

He kissed her forehead and she left, glancing back at him. He was suddenly feeling so much lighter. And then he was nervous. He looked to June who shook her head and rolled her eyes. Of course she'd be of no help.

This time, the children  _couldn't_  distract him. He was nervous and worried. Where would he take Sophie? Would she like it? Would she have a good time? Oh man. This was going to end badly.

He consulted Lisa who found it strange that he was going on his first date at this age. She just said to be himself and they should have a good time. Don't worry so much.

That didn't help. What  _did_  help was the restaurant suggestions.

After work, Jack walked back home and fumbled with his key. His hand was shaking and he was wondering if this was even a good idea. What was he even thinking?

Sophie noticed his nerves and told him they didn't have to go out. They could just stay in, she was fine with that. But he asked her. It would be rude to just take that away. He got ready, doning a nice button down and jeans with tennis shoes.

When he stepped into the living room, he called for Sophie. She was in the bathroom and called for him to join her there. She was fixing her hair, frowning in frustration when it wasn't doing what she wanted. Jack leaned against the door frame and watched her. She was gorgeous in all her simplicity. A white top that tied behind her neck and a flowing green skirt. She wore just a little bit of make up. Just enough to make certain features (like those big green eyes) pop.

She asked where they were going and Jack offered a few places. She settled on an Italian place, since she knew where that one was. She would be driving, of course. Jack hadn't been behind the wheel of any sort since the Christmas party.

The dinner was not nearly as bad as Jack imagined. Jack requested they got children's coloring pages and crayons that hostess was clearly reluctant to hand over. It was easy to fall into conversation with her, as it always was. They fooled around, trying out "date" things, like feeding each other. They could only burst out in laughter and had to wipe sauce from their faces. No, that wasn't a good idea.

When dessert was brought out, Sophie was all smiles. They shared a pan with a large cookie and ice cream on top. It was warm and delicious. She bit her lip and looked at Jack through her lashes. She seemed uncertain about something.

"Jack, can I ask you something?" she asked. He nodded, letting her know she could go on. "When did you… how did you sort out everything? You know… when did you realize how you felt?"

Jack rubbed his forehead and leaned on his hand. "You know… I didn't figure it out." he admitted. He supposed it was time to tell her about the Immortal he met. "I still don't know a damn thing about love but… instead of trying to figure out what it really was, I just decided I'd rather do what Cupid suggested. I want us to make our own love story." Jack eyed her for her reaction. She folded her arms and leaned forward to show he had her full attention. "I didn't… I didn't figure it out on my own. It's kind of shameful, really." He rubbed the back of his head. "Cupid told me how I felt. And how  _long_  I've felt this way. I can't pin-point exactly when it was but… Sophie, it's been years."

She raised her eyebrows. "Years?"

Jack sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "You were fifteen?"

"Fifteen?" she repeated, almost choking on her mouthful of cookie and ice cream.

"And Cupid shot you a little before you were sixteen… and it activated when I kissed you." Jack explained. "If I had thought about it… if I hadn't been scared to think about it, we could have had this—" Jack motioned between them, "—for years. I'm… I'm sorry."

Sophie leaned over the table and gave him a soft kiss. She smiled and nuzzled his nose. "Jack, I didn't care. I was just happy knowing you felt  _something_  for me. And if you were happy, I was happy." she nodded and sat back. "And you were happy, right?" Jack grinned and nodded vigorously. "Good!"

Jack reached across and took her hand. "I love you, Sophie Bennett."

She clutched his tightly and met his gaze. "And I love you, Jack Frost."

Screw Cupid and his games. He was content in this moment. He was glad to have finally told her the truth and perhaps he would let Jamie know as well. He did tell the man everything, so he didn't see why he couldn't tell him. It must have been weird, in all honesty.

"So… Cupid?" Sophie raised her eyebrow.

"Oh, yeah," Jack rolled his eyes. "He's a complete asshole, let me tell you."

When they finished, Jack paid and they went home, blasting music and screaming out the windows. They parked and linked fingers, walking back to the apartment. Jack spun her in front of the door to the building and pulled her in for a kiss.

A powerful gust of wind stopped him and a dark mass caught his peripherals.

"Jack!" Hiccup swung off of Toothless and ran up to them. He stopped and took a step back. "Um… sorry, am I interrupting something?"

Jack and Sophie exchanged confused glances and he adjusted his grip around her. "No, it's okay. What's up, Hiccup?"

"Where can I find Thor?"


	26. Chapter 26

"Thor?" Jack raised his eyebrows incredulously. "You want me to tell you where to find Thor?"

"Yes." Hiccup nodded. His hair was windswept and his face chaffed as if he had been exposed to extreme speeds and cold winds.

Jack sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Alright, come inside." He motioned for Hiccup to follow him and Sophie. Hiccup assured Toothless he'd be out shortly. In the apartment, Jack went right to his room, leaving his door open so he could talk to Hiccup.

"Why do you want to see Thor?" Sophie asked.

"Toothless, right?" Jack called as he changed his shirt. "Is that what you've been up to? You've been chasing lightning storms, looking for Thor?"

"Um… Yeah." Hiccup admitted. "I want to ask him if he could fix Toothless."

Jack adjusted his sweatshirt as he joined Hiccup and Sophie in the living room. He had to admit, Hiccup was brave. Thor was  _not_  exactly an understanding guy. At least from Jack's experience with him. The fact the boy even considered facing him meant he had gall.

"Well, let's just hope Thor's feeling merciful today." Jack muttered.

"Wait, 'let's'?" Hiccup shook his head. "Oh, no, no, no. Jack, this is something I have to do, you're not coming with me—"

"I can't just  _tell_  you where Asgard is, Hiccup." Jack pressed.

Hiccup blinked. " _Asgard_? We're going to  _Asgard_? Isn't that in a whole other realm?"

Jack frowned, confused. Is that what the legends said about that place? "No. It's in Germany, as far as I know. But I haven't been there in a century, it may or may not have moved since then."

Hiccup stared at Jack like he had three heads. "You're saying it  _moves_."

"Yeah," Jack shoved his hands in his pockets. "The realms of gods move every now and again. Just fifty years ago Olympus moved from Greece to New York. We may have to stop and ask for directions."

"There's no  _we_  Jack. It's me and Toothless." Hiccup insisted.

"Yeah, yeah. Good luck finding a secret entrance into the realm of self proclaiming  _gods._ Beings you may or may not even be able to see since you can't even see North." Jack crossed his arms. "By the way, the Valkyries are  _very_  protective of the entrance. I barely was able to get in that one time I did. And Loki was accompanying me. In hindsight, I should have just listened to the Valkyries." Yeah, his visit to Asgard was not a pleasant one.

Hiccup ran his hands through his hair. "It could be dangerous."

"It's going to be." Jack said flatly.

"Thor's probably going to be mad."

"Furious." And not just because Hiccup injured his kin.

"Maybe we should look for Hel. She might kill us quickly." Hiccup shrugged.

"She faded a hundred and fifty years ago." Jack shot back.

"Maybe we should wait for Jamie," Sophie frowned and wrapped her arms around herself. "You guys should think this through, especially if it's going to be dangerous."

Hiccup sat on the couch and leaned his head back, letting out a long sigh. "I have thought about it. I've been thinking about it since Jack mentioned that Thor and Hel could fix Toothless. I've been looking for either one of them since November. I've done a lot of research on both of them and I just… I gotta find them. I'm not going to be around forever, Toothless is. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Well, he can't kill you." Jack replied optimistically. "It's against the Immortal code to kill mortals. It's been that way since the Guardians came into power."

"Oh, good." Hiccup smiled. He actually looked genuinely relieved knowing that Thor wouldn't be able to kill him. Thinking about it, Jack felt relieved, too. That didn't mean the danger was any less.

Jack didn't say anything about Immortals  _harming_  mortals. They were free to do that to any adult. The children were totally off limits since they were pure and it was the Man in the Moon's law. Hiccup and Jack were not children. This could end painfully.

"Maybe we can just ask the Man in the Moon to fix him, yeah?" Sophie asked hopefully. Jack shook his head. No, Toothless was not the Man in the Moon's creation, he had no control over him. He could grant him something, if MiM was feeling generous. But he was sure he would not fix his tail. "I really think we should wait for Jamie."

Jack placed his hands on her waist and met her gaze. She fidgeted and worried on her lip. He pressed his forehead against hers and gave her a playful smile. "Come on, Sophie. We'll be fine. I'm Jack Frost, remember? I know how to get out of a sticky situation. Don't worry. We'll make it back in one piece."

She held up her pinky. "Promise."

Jack nodded and took her pinky with his. "Swear."

Sophie held out her pinky for Hiccup as well and scowled. "You, too!"

Hiccup looked at her finger and snorted. He pushed himself up and accepted her digit. "I promise."

Hiccup had trouble getting Toothless to let Jack ride him. Toothless was clearly, not only against Jack, but against the whole idea Hiccup had come up with. He seemed as if he didn't care that his tail fin was gone. He didn't really even want to confront Thor about repairing it. He just wanted Hiccup to be alright.

Hiccup told Jack the dragon had been fighting him every step of the way. And when Hiccup tried to distract Toothless so that Jack could climb on, Toothless bucked and Jack went flying. Oh, that really hurt.

Sophie stood and watched with her arms crossed as Jack tried to mount the dragon. He took Hiccup's notes and had no fear and showed he was not a threat. Jack knew he hadn't shown either of these traits with Toothless, but he was still thrown and his face was howled at.

Jack stood up for the seventh time and pushed Hiccup out of the way, standing in front of Toothless. They glared at each other. "Listen here, Toothless. Hiccup wants to help you. He needs me to show him the way since you refused to. Don't give me that look, you know exactly where Thor is and you refused to take Hiccup to him. I know why: you want to keep Hiccup safe. Well, guess what? That's what I want, too. He doesn't have a chance of getting what he wants from Thor, at least not without me. So we can set our differences aside, get your tail fixed, and go home or you can keep sending Hiccup on wild goose chases. You and I both know he won't stop looking until he's dead."

Toothless growled. Jack growled back. The dragon scoffed and lowered himself. Jack smiled and pat his snout. "You're not the only Immortal that hates me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sophie squeaked. Jack chuckled and turned to her, waving it off. It was too much to explain right now and he didn't want to worry her more. He took her face in his hands and kissed her forehead.

"See you tomorrow, Sophie."

Jack climbed on behind Hiccup and held on to the saddle tightly. Toothless flew off and Jack looked down on Sophie, watching her until she disappeared. She looked terrified as she watched them. He didn't like scaring her. But Hiccup was his friend and he wasn't going to let him go at this alone.

On the way, Jack explained to Hiccup gods weren't… well, gods. They were Immortals with big heads if anything. Mortals had labeled them as gods and it completely inflated their egos, making them believe they were higher than other Immortals and Legends. The fact they viewed themselves as such ticked Jack off. They were only considered gods because mortals had met them and believed them to be. In fact, most so-called gods were created  _because_ mortals had created their legend. If anything, they should be grateful to the mortals, not look down upon them. They should serve the mortals.

At least the gods knew their place when it came to the Guardians. The Guardians were the highest power underneath the Man in the Moon. Even still, the Guardians didn't have nearly as huge an ego as the gods. They still viewed themselves as equals, but with a huge responsibility.

Some of the gods who were around before man were wise. They understood their place. Odin, Poseidon, and Hades were some of the few that understood they were not any better than the other Immortals. Those were the ones Jack met that spoke any English. He had met gods in Asia, but could not understand a word they said, so he wasn't sure how they thought.

Thor was not one of those gods. When Jack had met him, he looked down upon Jack. He frowned at Jack and  _detested_  him. Jack had replaced a god.

Jokul Frosti.

The spirit of winter before Jack Frost. He had faded a little more than a decade before Jack was born. He was a Norse god whom was not as fun loving and playful as Jack. In fact, he felt as if he had an important job. He took winter from Mother Nature and treated it like a business. There was a schedule and a need and a time for everything. Yes, he wasn't afraid to throw a few tricks in here and there. But Jack Frost was no Jokul Frosti.

Jack let Mother Nature do most of the work. He spent most of his time having fun and playing tricks. He didn't take anything seriously, or at least tried not to. Sometimes, he would sober up. But not enough for any of the Immortals to take him seriously.

Jack had pissed Thor off just for existing. So, Jack did what he did best and gave him a reason to dislike him. Jack would follow Thor from time to time and turn his lightning storms into blizzards and freeze oak trees planted in his honor.

"… I'm not sure if you being here is going to be better or worse." Hiccup said.

"I'll divert most of his rage," Jack grinned. "Don't worry, you'll be a petty nuisance compared to me."

"So, you're the distraction." Hiccup concluded. "Sophie's gonna kill me."

"Jamie, too." Jack snickered.

"So, if Thor doesn't kill me, they will. Fantastic."

They were approaching their destination. A rocky mountain with little foliage and looked quite dangerous to trek. Jack pointed Hiccup to where they should go. Hiccup directed a reluctant Toothless towards a cave opening that they flew into. They flew deep, deep into the mountain. They stopped when they met a wall.

Dismounting Toothless, Jack walked towards the wall.

"Hníga til halr." Jack repeated what Loki had said so long ago when he brought him to Asgard.

"Open to man?" Hiccup translated.

"Is that what it meant?"

Nothing seemed to happen. Jack frowned and pressed his hand against it stumbled as he fell through. Oh, man that hurt. Jack was suddenly lifted by his hood and came face-to-face with a beautiful but ferocious woman. Her ethereal beauty was intimidating. He simply grinned at her, her eyes narrowing.

"Do you mind putting me down?" Jack asked, pulling fabric away from his throat. He only now realized how often he was lifted by his hood. What was with that?

"You should turn back, mortal." the Valkyrie commanded. "This is no place for you."

"We request an audience with Thor." Jack tried to turn to Hiccup. He had walked Toothless through the wall and stood back uneasily. He was thrown back into Toothless, all the air knocked out of him. Coughing, he stood up and turned to the woman.

"Mortals do not charge in here and request an audience with a god."

Jack grit his teeth. Yeah, why did gods think themselves so highly? He bit back a quip and straightened himself. "It's about his kin." Jack placed a hand on Toothless.

The warrior considered them. As reluctant as she was, she nodded. "I pray he shows mercy."

Well, that wasn't ominous.

Jack, Hiccup and Toothless followed the Valkyrie. She lead them across the crystal technicolor bridge and into a palace of gold. It did not look like they were in a mountain. Light shone brightly all around, water flowed from under the floating castle. More floating buildings that were smaller circled the largest structure. It was a beautiful sight. Hiccup was in awe, not getting enough of the view.

Jack could understand. He was in a realm only few mortals had tred. Jack only had horrible memories of this place. The view did not impress him, it was clouded by the ignorance of the gods that lived here. Only a few really had Jack's respect.

They were taken through elaborate chambers, led down fantastic corridors. They stopped in a decorated hall. Hiccup shifted uncomfortably. Jack sat in a chair around a table and propped his feet up. The Valkyrie was taken aback by how casual he was. Definitely not appropriate when facing a god.

But Jack needed to make sure Hiccup would be safe. He might not be a Guardian anymore, but he would still take his role seriously. Hiccup might not be a child, but he was still Jack's friend whom he would protect with his life.

"Jack, you might want to show more respect." Hiccup insisted. Jack waved him off and watched the Valkyrie leave to return to her post by the entrance or summon Thor.

"Trust me, Hiccup." Jack grinned.

The face Hiccup was making told Jack he  _didn't_  trust him. As they waited for Thor, the teen was assuring Toothless everything would be fine, though he wasn't sure if he believed it himself. The dragon was uneasy, his eyes narrowed and watching the door.

It wasn't long until the double doors opened and a very tall man entered. His strawberry blonde hair reached his shoulders and he had a red scruff on his face. He donned armor that was much like traditional Viking armor, but with a modern twist. A hammer hung at his hip.

This was Thor.

"What is it you mortals want?" He got right to the point.

Jack turned to Thor and waved. "Hey, Thor. Long time no see."

Jack watched as the god's expression of mild annoyance became a snarl of rage. "Jack Frost?" Jack stood up with his usual smirk. "I've heard of your cowardice. You should have faded." Jack's smirk fell. "It was weak of you to beg Tsar Lunar for an extension on your life."

"I don't have to explain myself to you." Jack replied cooly. He crossed over to Hiccup and Toothless and rested his arm on Hiccup's shoulder casually. "We're here to ask you to help your kin. I didn't think we would have had to go to a  _god_  to get this done."

Thor's glare turned from Jack to Hiccup. "Harald Haddock III. So you are the wretch that put my dragon in captivity."

"What?! No!" Hiccup shook his head. "No, no! He'd my friend, I'm not keeping him against his will or anything, right, Toothless?"

Toothless growled and stepped in front of Hiccup protectively. Thor put a hand on his head. "Nótt Móðr. What has he done to you?" Toothless snapped at him and Thor retracted his hand. Thor circled Toothless who was careful to keep Hiccup and Jack behind him.

"Nótt Móðr?" Jack repeated softly.

"Night Fury," Hiccup translated.

Jack kept a close eye on Thor. The man gripped at the saddle and tore the leather like paper, tossing it at the boys. Jack pulled Hiccup down and the heavy saddle soared over their heads. Thor broke the replacement fin and threw it at them. Toothless howled and twisted to Thor, throwing himself at him.

The dragon pinned the god down and Jack pulled Hiccup back, away from them. The two Immortals glared at each other, Toothless growling. Thor reached a hand up, a spark fizzled between his hand and Toothless's forehead.

Something strange happened. Toothless buckled and collapsed like a broken marionette. Thor shoved Toothless off of him.

"Toothless!" Hiccup ran forward. He took the dragon's face and tried to awaken him. "Toothless! What did you do to him?!"

"He has been incapacitated. He is not harmed. As for you." Thor grabbed Hiccup by the scruff of his shirt and lifted him to eye level.

"Put him down!" Jack wasn't sure what happened. He was running to Thor and Hiccup and then there was something in his gut that left him breathless on on the floor. He gasped for air and touched the large hammer that rested on top of him. Damn it. Jack tried to push the hammer off of his stomach. Oh, god, it hurt. It was heavy. And wouldn't budge. It was making it hard for him to breathe.

"You ignorantly stroll into my realm, thinking just because you asked, I would do what you requested?" Thor laughed humorlessly. "You want me to fix your mistake. Fine, done. But first, I will need material." Jack watched Thor toss Hiccup to the ground. The boy scramble to stand, unafraid.

"What do you need?" Hiccup asked. "I'll go get it."

Thor sized him up. "Your leg."

Hiccup stepped back. "What?"

"Your leg will have what I need to make Nótt Móðr a tail and fix your blunder." Thor said frankly.

"No!" Jack gasped. "Leave him alone!"

"You are no longer a Guardian, Jack Frost. You have no authority here and you have no respect." Thor snorted. "You are foolish if you think otherwise."

"I'll do it."

"Hiccup, no!" Jack cried and tried to lift the hammer from him. He felt bone shift under the metal and grunted. Ow, ow, ow, that hurt really bad. "Thor, don't touch him."

Thor crossed over to him and crouched beside him, chuckling. "Jack Frost. You replace a god and dawdle for three hundred years. You were nothing more than a child who took his power for granted. Then you were  _chosen_  by Tsar Lunar for a greater purpose and you  _squander_  it. You do one thing useful and then you are finished. You give up and embrace mortality. Why did Tsar Lunar create you in the first place? You are pathetic, Jack Frost. You are a useless existence."

Thor grabbed the handle of his hammer, Mjolnir, and pressed against Jack's chest. Jack yelped and felt something crack. Several things crack. Thor stood up, taking his hammer with him. Jack was left immobile from the pain. He wanted to get up and stop Thor. He had to.

"T-Take my leg," Jack gasped. It was the only thing he could think to do.

"Jack, no." Hiccup shook his head. He gave the boy a half-smile. "It's alright. I mean… karma, right?"

Thor stopped and belted a laugh. "Do you still think yourself as a Guardian?"

Jack couldn't answer. He could barely breathe. He touched his ribs and felt them shift beneath his fingers. It hurt. It hurt a lot. He forced himself to sit up and he saw spots that blinded him. He shakily got to his feet and wrapped his arm around his ribs, praying it wasn't as bad as it felt.

Hiccup stood strong. He was brave. He stood with his dragon and took a deep breath. "Take what you need, Thor."

Thor raised his hammer and Jack lunged for him. The god easily pushed him aside, knocking him to the ground. There was a rumble of thunder, flash of light, and a scream. Jack looked up, his eyes wide. Hiccup had fallen and curled in on himself.

There was no blood. The flesh beneath Hiccup's knee was seared, black, and cleanly cut. Jack watched as Thor picked up Hiccup's calf and foot. The flesh, bone and muscle molded as easy as clay in Thor's hands. The god rounded to the tail and started shaping a tail fin, the color of the material in his hand darkening.

Jack couldn't watch. It made him feel  _sick._  He crawled over to Hiccup and lifted him in his arms. He shook the boy. "Hiccup!"

The boy's breath shortened, he was sweating. In his arms, Hiccup jolted. He flinched, his muscles tense. He seemed to have checked out, unable to focus on anything but the pain in his leg. Jack pulled away charred bits of jean from the wound and grimaced. Frost-like track marks traveled up the leg.

Hiccup cried out, shaking. Jack glared to Thor. The god pat the dragon's hide. Toothless instantly jumped to his feet and shook himself out. He turned to Thor and shot plasma at him.

"Toothless!" Jack called. The dragon growled and faced him. "We don't have time for that!" Jack held his ribs as he stood. He cried out in pain as he lifted Hiccup. He needed to get him help. He needed to get him to a hospital or to another Immortal or  _something_.

Toothless was quick to Jack's side. The boy struggled to put Hiccup on Toothless's back. The saddle was gone, so bareback it was. Jack pulled himself up and secured the both of them as best he good before turning to Thor.

"You call me ignorant, Thor. But  _your_  the ignorant one." He spat. "You're no more important than the Leprechaun." Jack pat Toothless's head. "Let's go. Hurry."

Thor was left with an incredulous expression. Toothless  _flew_  out the large window, towards the exit, and out into the sky. What was he going to do? He was supposed to protect Hiccup. He failed. Jack  _failed_  to protect his friend.

Maybe Thor was right. He was a useless existence.

Jack looked down at Hiccup that hung over the dragon in front of him. Jack secured him and pat his back. The boy groaned. He was in so much pain and Jack couldn't do anything to stop it. He was pale, drenched in sweat, and shaking.

Toothless was flying as fast as he could. The land beneath them sped by in a blur. Jack found it difficult to hold on. His own ribs stung. He felt like he was being stabbed.

He rubbed Toothless's head. "I'm sorry." Jack murmured. The dragon peered back at him and let out a grunt to show he was listening. "I'm sorry. I said I'd protect Hiccup. I tried. But… I'm so sorry."

Toothless released a roar. Jack couldn't speak dragon, but something told him that Toothless wasn't angry at him. Maybe Toothless was upset he couldn't help Hiccup, either.

It wasn't his fault, though. Toothless could not have helped what happened. Thor had made sure of that.

Jack wish he could have done more.

It was too long until they reached Jack's home. In the courtyard, they could see Jamie and Sophie had waited for them outside, wrapped in blankets. They must have been waiting up all night. The sky was barely lit, hint of the morning sun rising. Toothless roared and the siblings jolted up from their place under the tree. They ran up to meet them and Jack slipped off of Toothless, falling forward into Sophie.

Oh, god, that hurt! But— "Hiccup!" Jack used Sophie to support himself as he pointed to Hiccup. "Hiccup needs help!"

Jamie was quick to approach Toothless and assess the situation. Jack was able to see Toothless's repaired tail fin. Black and scaly, like the rest of him. It looked as if it had always been part of the dragon. Jamie climbed on Toothless.

"I'm taking him to the hospital." Jamie said. "When I come back, you have to tell me what happened."

Jack and Sophie watched him fly off. She turned to him an put a hand on his chest. He flinched. "Are you okay?"

Jack lifted his hoodie and shirt. Sophie gasped and covered her mouth. He examined his chest and stomach which were heavily bruised. His ribs looked out of place. "I think I need the hospital, too."


	27. Chapter 27

Jamie had concluded he had the stupidest people as friends. They were idiots out to get themselves killed. Although he was assured they weren't in any lethal danger, there was still a threat. Why did he feel like a babysitter? Oh, right. He was the oldest. He had to take care of the children.

Jamie sat at Hiccup's bedside a three days later. He had stopped by the hospital after work. Jack was there, frustrated he was out of work and needed to keep himself busy. Jamie was surprised to see him there. The hospital was a little too far for walking distance. He flew on Toothless.

Jack had cracked his sternum, fractured two ribs, and broke three. His torso was covered in bruises. He was given muscle relaxers and pain killers to treat his injuries. He was let out the same day he was checked in.

Hiccup was recovering from surgery. They cleaned out what was left of his leg and removed the charred flesh. He was going to be going through a lot of physical therapy. He was healing from the burns.

They weren't sure what to tell the doctors. It was hard to tell them exactly what happened. How could anyone explain that a Norse god took Hiccup's leg? It didn't matter, either way. Jamie had no idea what exactly happened until Jack told him.

They were crazy. These boys were stupid and crazy and Jamie had no idea what to do with them. But they were smiling and laughing. Somehow, Jack had gotten Toothless in the hospital room.

Hiccup was surprisingly taking the loss of his leg well. He explained that he had given what he had taken away from Toothless. Toothless had saved him. Toothless was his best friend. He would do anything for the dragon.

He was drawing up plans to create a prosthetic when Jamie entered. Jack and Hiccup were in idle conversation. Jack was telling Hiccup what they were doing with Toothless while Hiccup was incapacitated. Jamie, Sophie, and Jack were taking care of him. They kept him in their apartment. Jack would take him flying.

Toothless and Jack were getting along surprisingly well now.

Jack was out work for the moment. It was suggested that he take some time off to heal, especially with his line of work. Lisa insisted he did not return for two weeks at the very least. She saw how he played with the children. They played hard. She didn't want him hurting himself any further.

"What do the guys at work say?" Hiccup asked Jamie.

"They honestly didn't even notice you're gone." Jamie admitted. "They're wondering who quit because of all of these shifts that are open. I have to tell them you're in the hospital and they go, 'Who's Harald? Is he new?'"

"I've been working there for over a year!" Hiccup exclaimed.

"I know!"

"Even Jim?"

"He didn't even notice you were gone." Jamie rolled his eyes. "Some boss he is, right?"

"Screw them, I'm not going back." Hiccup crossed his arms and leaned back.

"NO!" Jamie cried dramatically. "I NEED YOU THERE HICCUP! MY SANITY IS AT STAKE!" The thought of Hiccup not being there was horrible. With their horrible coworkers and boring tasks, Jamie really needed some relief.

"Well, if its only you're sanity, then I'm definitely not going back."

"Asshole." Jamie play-punched his arm.

Hiccup sighed and lifted his wrapped leg, bending the knee. It must have been strange, Jamie thought. Not having a limb. Hiccup had told him of the Phantom Limb Syndrome. How he would forget he didn't have a limb and sometimes felt his toes curling or an itch on a leg that was no longer there. It was driving him crazy.

Toothless nudged Hiccup and he put a hand on his snout. Jack frowned. "Hiccup," the boy started. Hiccup looked to him to show he was listening. "I'm so sorry."

"For what?" Hiccup furrowed his brows. "Because of some mad god? Jack, it's fine. I'm okay. I'm content. I mean, yeah, I'm missing a leg, but Toothless has his flight back. We got out of there in much better shape than I imagined."

Jack got to his feet. "But I'm—! I was… I…" Jack ran his hands through his hair and paced to the foot of the bed. "I was supposed to protect you. It's my duty. It was… I'm…" Jamie could see Jack's struggle.

Had he… had he not yet accepted the fact that he was no longer a Guardian? That he had no power in that world any longer? Did he go in there, planning on putting his life before Hiccup's?

"Jack," Hiccup sat up. "You got  _lucky_  Thor didn't take your leg. From what you said, the Man in the Moon granted you a wish. For this life. Asking Thor to spare me would be like… like taking that for granted. Even if it was just a limb, your whole being in this state is a miracle. You shouldn't waste it. Take care of yourself, Jack. You have only one last chance, don't screw it up."

Jack gripped the post at the end of the bed tightly and leaned forward. "But… that's just it. I've already had to many chances. You only get one."

Hiccup shook his head. "It's fine, Jack. Besides, Merida came in with her family yesterday. Fergus and I actually had something we could talk about. He's kind of cool. Did Merida tell you how he lost his leg? Bear attack! I mean, I told everyone I lost mine in an invention-gone-wrong kind of thing. And I'm working on a prosthetic anyway." Hiccup held up papers. "See? It's going to be really cool. And Toothless can fly on his own now. If anything, I should be thanking Thor for taking my leg."

"What is this about Thor taking your leg?"

The boys froze and turned to the door. They had no heard Hiccup's father, Stoick, walk in. He carried Hiccup's toolbag and wore an expression of confused interest. Oh, boy.

"Jack, time to go." Jamie grabbed Jack's arm and pulled him towards the door. There was no way they were staying for this.

"What? Jamie!"

"Wait—Guys!"

Stoick stepped towards Hiccup and Jamie watched them over his shoulder. Toothless shuttered uncomfortably as Stoick stepped through him to Hiccup's bed. The dragon shifted around the bed, knocking it causing it to shake and move. It alarmed Stoick and Hiccup cried out a bit in surprise.

While they were distracted Jamie pulled Jack into the bathroom and covered the boy's mouth. Jack looked to Jamie who pressed a finger to his lips to quiet him.

They wouldn't help Hiccup make excuses for his father. If things got out of hand, Jamie could bring themselves bring a distraction. Get a nurse or a doctor and somehow get Stoick out of there.

"It's okay." Hiccup assured Toothless and Stoick. "I'm okay. It's okay."

"What was that?" Stoick demanded.

"Dad," Hiccup started, clear panic creeping into his voice. "Dad, you wouldn't believe me."

"Try me."

"That's just the thing!" Hiccup said with exasperation. "You already don't! This is far beyond anything you can comprehend and it's better that you don't know. It's better for us and-and just… Dad, it's better if I don't tell you. You wouldn't understand."

There was heavy silence. Jack made to go back into the room and Jamie grabbed his arm to stop him. Jack scowled at Jamie who only shook his head. Give them a minute. One moment.

Jamie wanted Hiccup to get along with his father. He knew what it was like growing up with a single parent. The fact that they weren't on the same page really got to Jamie. Having a good relationship with the one person who was supposed to be there for you, no matter what, was very important. And if this was going to be that point where they met, he didn't want to ruin it.

"Hiccup, when your friend called me and told me you were in the hospital… I was terrified." Stoick's voice was softer than Jamie had ever heard it. He was genuine and honest. "It was like when your mother was admitted. I didn't know if you were going to be let out alive."

"I'm… I'm fine Dad…"

"I know I haven't been supportive, Hiccup." Stoick sighed. "I… I honestly wasn't sure how to handle all… this."

"You just gestured to all of me."

"I know. You weren't the boy I was expecting to have," Stoick grunted like he couldn't find the right words. "I was expecting one I could play catch with and teach how to ride a bike. Instead, you built a machine that would throw balls for you and a bike that stayed up on it's own. Your mother got you, though. Your mother understood you. So, I let her deal with you. When we lost her, I had no idea what to do with you. Don't get me wrong, boy. I love you, you're my son. I just… I don't understand you."

Hiccup sighed. "I know, Dad."

"That doesn't mean I wouldn't be lost without you, son."

"Dad, I…" There was the sound of metal creaking, as if Hiccup leaned against the headboard. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to scare you."

"Son… what have you been doing? You've been acting stranger than usual and I  _know_  none of your contraptions could have sliced your leg clean off."

Hiccup sighed. "You'll never believe me, Dad."

"I'll try."

Jamie leaned his head back against the wall and smiled. They were going to get somewhere. This is exactly what he wanted. He just hoped any talk of dragons or Thor wouldn't ruin their chance. Stoick had to accept that what was real, was real. Even if he didn't believe in what Hiccup said, if he accepted it, that was a huge step.

"I guess… first thing's first is… You should meet Toothless."

"Toothless?"

"My dragon." Toothless rumbled.

"… A dragon?"

"I told you you wouldn't believe me." Hiccup sighed. "Whoah, careful. Gentle."

"You mean he's here."

"Yep."

"In this room."

"Right here."

Jack fidgeted and Jamie put a hand on his shoulder. Just a little longer. Hiccup might need back up. He knew Jack was uncomfortable. Jamie wasn't even sure if he should be doing this. This was their business. But Hiccup was his friend. And he really wanted to make sure he established a relationship with his father.

"I don't see anything." Stoick said flatly.

"Because you don't believe in him." Hiccup sighed. "Forget it. You didn't believe me when I was fourteen, you wouldn't believe me now."

"Hiccup—"

"Something else you wouldn't believe," Hiccup rounded. "I hurt my dragon, Toothless. He lost a tail fin because of me. I was fourteen and stupid. I'm friends with Jack Frost. Yeah, that guy? He's actually Jack Frost. He led Toothless and me to Asgard. Asgard, Dad. It's in Germany. I met a Valkyrie and I confronted Thor. Thor and Hel created Toothless and I wanted to ask Thor to fix my mistake. He did. At the cost of my leg. Let me tell you, lightning hurts, Dad. It was the worst pain I've ever felt and I'd rather die than feel that again."

"Hiccup—"

"See, Dad? I told you you wouldn't believe me." Hiccup let out a noise of frustration. "You can just throw me in the looney bin now."

Hiccup was panting and Stoick was silent. Jack tried to go back into the room; Jamie stopped him again. The air was full of awkward and intensity. Just a little longer.

"If that's what you said happened, then I believe you, Hiccup."

"What?"

"If that's what happened, that's what happened." Stoick grunted. "Just… don't make it a habit of confronting gods."

Jamie grinned. Jack nodded towards the door and Jamie had to hold back a chuckle. Jamie peered around the corner to make sure neither of them were looking. Hiccup stared at the sheets, trying to take in what his father had said. Stoick sat in the seat with his back to them. Toothless nudged Hiccup's face, trying to snap him out of it.

Jamie walked into the room, Jack in tow. Jamie casually waved as Hiccup looked up to him. Hiccup curled his fingers as a gesture of greeting. He was in complete disbelief. "We forgot something."

"Right." Hiccup put a hand on Toothless's head.

Jamie beamed and beckoned Toothless with a finger. The dragon tried to move around the bed again and knocked it once more. Hiccup steadied himself on the headboard and Stoick pushed his chair back and got to his feet. Toothless moved through him, knocking the chair out of the way with his wing.

Jack scratched Toothless under the chin when he saw Stoick was looking. Jamie wasn't sure if Stoick could see the dragon, but he certainly knew something was there.

"We'll be back tomorrow." Jamie waved. "It was good seeing you, Mr. Haddock."

Jamie went home feeling good. Jack rode Toothless to their apartment while Jamie drove. Maybe they had a connection now. Maybe Stoick would pay more attention to his son. After all, they were all each other had. They were family. It upset Jamie that Hiccup wasn't close to his father like Jamie and Sophie were with their mother.

Maybe they wouldn't have that strong of a relationship just yet. It might take a long time to build. After their father left, Susan made an effort to get closer to her children in order for them not to feel the gap left behind that was her husband. Stoick had not done that. Stoick kept his distance and Hiccup tried to make him proud, only giving up when Stoick made clear he had no interest. But he was interested now. Hiccup would have a father.

At home, Jamie helped Jack get Toothless into the apartment. Jack laid on the floor with his hands above his head, taking keep breaths. Jamie offered his pain killers.

Jack's visit to the hospital was an expensive one. X-rays cost a lot. Medicine cost even more. He didn't have health insurance, not yet. Susan was called and she helped pay. Jamie, Sophie, Susan, and Jack pooled together what they could to pay for everything and they just made it.

"Jack?"

"Hm?"

Jamie sat on the floor next to him. "You know… it's okay." Jack raised his eyebrows. He requested for Jamie to elaborate. "It's hard letting go what you were. Especially if that was your purpose, you know? And… it's okay to want to hang on to that."

Jack sighed and rested his hand over his eyes. "Jamie, I'm… I'm not a Guardian anymore. But… But I still want to protect. I want to make sure no harm falls upon anyone if I can help it. Hiccup's my friend and I just… I failed to protect him."

Jamie snorted. "He doesn't see it that way."

"I know… but… I let MiM down."

Jack crossed his arms. "Did MiM  _tell_ you he was disappointed?" Jack shook his head. "I think he'd be proud you tried your best. Because you did. You stood up for your friend, you offered yourself in his place. You just were stuck dealing with a real dick."

Jack hummed. He didn't believe Jamie. Jamie didn't think anything he could tell Jack would make this better for him. He would continue to beat himself up over this and Jack being unoccupied would make it worse. He needed to go back to work and surround himself with children. He had been out of work for as long as a long weekend and he was going insane.

Jamie finally understood why.

"I just wanted to do some good. I wanted Hiccup to be safe. That's why I went with him. I went with him so  _that_  wouldn't happen. But I can't save anyone."

"Don't you dare say that, Jack." Jamie slapped the floor. "You saved so many people. More than you realize. You saved your sister, you saved me, you saved all the children of the world from Pitch, Jack! You _saved_  Sophie. Jack, you're my hero." It was true. Jack Frost had been his hero since they had met. Seeing him like this hurt.

"But… I had a purpose. And I gave it up."

"Yes. Jack Frost's purpose was to protect the children of the world. But you're Jackson Overland Frost. You are a human." Jamie pulled Jack's hand away from his face. "That's the thing about being human. You have to make your own destiny. You don't have eternity to wait around for it."

Jack turned up to him. He smiled. "Thank you."

"Come on, let's get dinner ready. I think Sophie gets off around eight, right?" Jamie stood up and pulled Jack to his feet. "I'll teach you how to make lasagna."


	28. Chapter 28

Sophie and Rapunzel sat outside of their school with chalk in hand and a pattern on paper. They, along with several other volunteers, were helping their professors with an exhibit. They were instructed to draw twists and circles as part of the "Mystery of Kolam" exhibition showcasing Hindu folk art. Sophie was only half paying attention to the meaning behind it, but it had something to do with welcoming "all things auspicious" to enter within. They were drawing on the sidewalks, doorways, and walls.

All Sophie knew was it was hot and she was tired. As fun as it was, drawing the same pattern became slightly tedious. Her and Rapunzel had taken to adding their own flare to the patterns. A Pac-Man instead of a circle, a flower inside of the twist, a stick figure with a top-hat. They giggled as they worked. They knew their professor wouldn't mind. He was rather open to creativity and liked that the girls had spunk.

It was April and getting warmer, thank god, finally. Sophie liked winter, but she did not like the cold. It wasn't the same this year. She was sure it was because it was Mother Nature's winter and not Jack's. Sophie decided she liked Jack's winter better and was disappointed she would never experience it again.

"How was your Easter?" Rapunzel asked.

Hiccup, Merida, and the triplets had been invited to Burgess to join in the annual Easter Egg hunt. Stoick was also invited and met Susan. They were able to discuss their children's strange ways of life while the teens assisted the toddlers with the hunt (not that they really needed much help). Well, Jamie, Jack, and Sophie helped them. Hiccup and Merida sat at a bench and watched. At the time, Hiccup was still recovering and the doctors wanted his leg to heal before they fitted a prosthetic.

Rapunzel and her family had been invited, too. They, along with Fergus and Elinor, had to decline. They had other plans, which was understandable. Rapunzel and her parents had their own sort of celebration and family gathering. Fergus had a business issue that was brought up and needed to be taken care of. Yes, on Easter. Merida had told Sophie Easter was not a big deal to their family.

It was a big deal to Sophie, though. Easter was her favorite holiday. She loved painting eggs with Bunnymund every year before they were sent out and hunting them once they got home. She would try and spot eggs she may have helped with. Easter was the season for a new start, which she always tried to take.

This year was different. It was the first year in seven years her and Jamie had not visited the Warren to help out Bunnymund. It was disappointing, but Jack could not bring them. She hoped that maybe Bunnymund would come to them, but he did not. She understood, of course. He was busy, his holiday coming up. She was sure he missed them just as much as they missed him.

Oh, and her mother met Toothless. Susan was just as terrified of Toothless as Sophie was.

"I spoke with Hiccup yesterday. He said he's getting his prosthetic from the hospital next week." Rapunzel chirped at the mention of the dragon. "He doesn't even want to bother, but the doctors insist. He's almost finished with his prototype."

"I can never understand what that boy goes on about," Sophie admitted. "I love him, I do, but god bless him, he's just too smart for me."

"Aw, Sophie~!" Rapunzel cooed. "That's what we have Jamie and Merida there for. Translation!"

"Oh, good, I'm not the only one," Sophie wiped sweat from her brow and pulled out her hair tie. The braid she attempted to put her hair in was falling out. Her hair was still too short for anything fancy to stay in right. The hair just barely reached past her shoulders. She couldn't wait for it to get long again. She missed it already. She, instead, pulled her hair back into a high ponytail.

"Yeah, he tried to explain what he was going to do to make it work and it went waaaaaay over my head." Rapunzel sighed. "I tried, though. He's admirable." The girl nodded. "Brave and fearless. I still can't believe he and Jack went up against Thor! I would have liked to have met him. I loved reading about mythology growing up. The Greeks were my favorite, though! I have to say, if I could pick one god I'd like to meet, it would have to be Athena."

Sophie would rather never have the pleasure of meeting Thor, thank you. From everything Jack and Hiccup said, he did not seem like a nice man and would like to stay very far away from him. His kin was enough for her, thanks. Yep. Toothless was about as close to lightning god as she'd ever like to tred.

"Jack said she was kind of intimidating." Sophie said softly. "He met her once after he ran into a dragon. I'm pretty sure that was Toothless. Anyway, she kind of explained the mythos of the dragons to him. While she spoke to him like an equal, she was still scary."

Rapunzel yelled out in excitement. "You're serious?! He met Athena?! Oh my gosh! I'm going to have to get every detail from him." Rapunzel scooted down the sidewalk, giddy and grinning. "He's told you and Jamie a lot of stories, hasn't he?"

"Well, yeah," Sophie smiled fondly. She glanced to the group that was getting closer to them. A group of three from their Drawing II class that Rapunzel had grown familiar with, but Sophie had not. She spoke with them on occasion, they were friendly, but she was shy and knew it was hard to strike up conversation with her. "Jack's been around forever and I've listened to his stories pretty much my whole life."

"Did he tell you about me?" Rapunzel asked curiously. It wasn't asked in an egotistical way, the girl was genuinely curious to see if Sophie had heard of hers and Jack's story.

Sophie thought for a moment and chewed her lip. "He might have. Honestly, I've got a terrible memory." she admitted. "He probably did and I've just forgotten. He'd tell Jamie and me of times when he saved kids. He was always so proud and felt so accomplished. He wanted to tell someone, and usually we were his go-to. He never bragged, either. And I mean," her voice lowered as the other group drew closer, "after three hundred years of being invisible, it's understandable. You have people that can see you and want to know you. He was so excited whenever he'd tell his stories of being a Guardian."

"So, it's not weird?"

"What's not weird?" Sophie furrowed her brows.

"I mean, you guys are dating, right?" Sophie sat up and looked to Rapunzel. "It's got to be  _kinda_  weird, right?"

How did she know? When did she find out? Did Jamie tell her? Well… she supposed it was kind of hard to keep it secret. They weren't really trying. They never did. They would freely show how close they were. They wouldn't kiss, but they would stay close, hold hands, cuddle. … Yeah, she was sure Rapunzel probably figured it out on her own.

"Oh my gosh!" The boy in the group that they had closed in on turned to Sophie. "Sophie's dating someone? I never would have guessed! You're so shy!"

Sophie's face burned. Adrian, the boy, was just as open as Rapunzel. He was a bit effeminate and dressed better than Sophie ever could. He was very nice and really did try very hard to talk with Sophie, if anything because Rapunzel would try and get her to open up with them. Despite having softer features, he was still intimidating with his tattoos and gauges.

Sophie rubbed her face and chuckled uncertainly. The chalk made her hands rough and it stung near her eyes, but it felt good in a stress relieving kind of way. Oh, boy, this was going to be weird.

"Yeah, um… kind of."

"Does he go here?" Adrian asked.

"No, he doesn't go to school." she replied, focusing on the pattern before her. "He works at a day care. He's not really… the school type, I guess."

"How long have you been dating?" Adrian asked. Rapunzel scooted closer to Sophie, showing she had her full attention.

"Um… I can't say 'dating,'" Sophie mumbled "We're… together. It's kind of… complicated."

"How long?" Adrian pressed.

"Yeah, how long?" Rapunzel asked.

"Couple of years." Sophie rubbed her face again. "There was… something, you know? But we didn't really get…  _together_  until New Years." Man, this was hard to explain to people. They just wouldn't  _get_  it. She wasn't even sure if she did. The whole situation was a complicated one. "Hm… we kind of started something about three years ago, though. I was seventeen."

"And how old is he?" Adrian inquired further.

"Th—A year younger than me. Nineteen." Sophie almost slipped his actual age. She wondered if she should have played it off as a joke. Jamie would have. Sophie was not so charismatic.

"Do you have a picture? Let me see!" Adrian begged.

"Oh, he's a cute one, Adrian." Rapunzel nodded.

Sophie's face burned. She pulled out her phone and flipped through her pictures. Not that one, nope, that one was Jack Frost, what was that supposed to be, oh. Huh. Sophie didn't have very many pictures of Jack on her phone. She took quite a few with her camera. She should probably put them on a social networking site or something. Ah, that one was good.

"Which one?" Adrian asked.

"The one with spiky hair and looks nineteen." Sophie stated frankly.

"Aw~! He is a cutie! And who's the other one?"

"That's Jamie, my brother." Sophie she said, taking back the phone.

"Not  _his_  brother?" Adrian raised his eyebrows in shock. "Could have fooled me. They look more like siblings than you do."

"Yeah," Sophie smiled a bit. "We've been getting that lately."

They connected the twisting patterns and the five of them stood up to move to another area. Rapunzel hummed and linked arms with Sophie who stuck close to the girl. The two girls with Adrian were in their own conversation. Something about the next project in their Digital Design class.

Rapunzel tried to ask further questions, but Sophie wasn't sure how to answer them. At least not in front of Adrian and Linsey and Kathy. They were too intrusive into the other world. Sophie tried to round the conversation on to the project at hand, but nobody was really even sure what it was about. They were as clueless as Sophie. Except for Rapunzel.

Rapunzel knowledgeably tried to explain it, until Adrian kind of rudely interrupted. He asked Sophie how long she had known Jack, how they met, and so many questions. Why was he interested? She was becoming a bit overwhelmed. Shortly after they started on the next section, Sophie pulled Rapunzel away, excusing herself to use the bathroom.

Once they were inside, Sophie sat on a couch and rubbed her face. Rapunzel chuckled and rubbed her back, assuring her that she was okay and that she did good.

"How am I supposed to make up lies so easy?" Sophie stressed. "I can't do that! I'm not like Jamie! I can't be quick with an answer, especially when it requires thinking!"

Rapunzel hugged Sophie. "Well, friends like to know things, you know."

"We're friends?" Sophie asked bluntly.

"He did invite you to the party next weekend, right?" Rapunzel rose her eyebrow.

"Yeah, but I work." Sophie muttered.

"Mom won't let me go." Rapunzel settled back on the couch and hugged her knees. "But, that's okay. They're going to be drinking and smoking and I'm not into that. But! Just the fact he invited you means he thinks you're his friend!"

Sophie smiled weakly. "I'm making friends." she breathed in disbelief. It had been so long since she had really been able to make  _friends_. Rapunzel, Merida, and Hiccup were a fluke. They had to be. Jack said they were fated to meet. This was different. She had forgotten how the whole friendship thing worked.

She was getting to know people. She was opening herself up to people in a different way than she would with Hiccup, Merida, or Rapunzel. Like how  _Jamie_  had friends.

"Of course you are," Rapunzel beamed. "Now, let's go. I got your back, don't worry."

Sophie washed her hands to make it look like she had used the bathroom. They returned and Sophie felt much more confident. She still had trouble sticking to a story, but Rapunzel kept true to her word. She helped Sophie keep talking and she made jokes and when they were done for the day, Rapunzel and Sophie walked to Sophie's car.

On the way home, Rapunzel propped her bare feet up on the dashboard, tapping her knee in time to the music playing. She turned to Sophie.

"So, you never answered me. Is it weird?"

"Is what weird?" Sophie furrowed her brows.

"You know… being with someone you once looked up to like a big brother."

Sophie barely spared a thought. "Nope." she smiled at the girl. "I can't see him like a big brother anymore. I haven't for a long time. When I was ten, yeah, he was like another Jamie. But… I dunno. Somewhere along the way, he became just  _Jack_. It might sound weird. I mean, he loves me and he watched me grow up. But it's not like it used to be, you know? It's hard to explain it. You just have to experience it. I don't even think Jamie gets it. But… it doesn't feel weird. It feels good. We're happy." At least she thought so. Jack had never said otherwise.

"You're so lucky," Rapunzel sighed wistfully. "You found someone you can love and who loves you back. I've never had a boyfriend before. Men actually scared me for a while. Ruffians and thugs! That's all I believed they were! Then I ran into a bunch of ruffians and thugs and they were actually a bunch of really nice people."

Sophie had no trouble believing people were nice to her. "You bring out the best in people." Sophie commented. "You're like… this beacon. You make people like you so easily and you just… you're bright. And shining. And, well, blinding."

Rapunzel brushed her hair behind her ear modestly. "No… not really." she said softly.

"You do!" Sophie insisted. "Honestly, I don't even know what you saw in me to make you start talking to me.  _Nobody_  ever talks to me. I'm invisible. A wall. Not even a wallflower, I'm not interesting enough for that. I'm a plain wall. And you… you saw me. It might have just been that magnetic magic Jack was talking about but… Rapunzel." Sophie met her gaze and smiled fondly before looking back to the road. "Thank you for seeing me."

Rapunzel curled into her seat and hugged her knees. Sophie noticed that she fidgeted a bit before nodding, as if deciding something she was uncertain about. Then, she smiled. "I was like you for a while." Rapunzel admitted. "I was home schooled. I didn't have any friends. But, when I went out into the world, I did my best to make some!"

Sophie pulled up to Rapunzel's house and parked. She turned to the girl and smiled. She really did admire her. She was certainly someone she could look up to. She could so easily just  _decide_  she wanted to make friends. And she made them. She didn't even try.

Rapunzel opened the door and stepped out. She stood in the open door for a moment before bending down to look in at Sophie. "Come inside! I want to show you something."

Sophie nodded and turned off the ignition. She was sure it was probably a new piece of art or maybe a new trick she taught Pascal. Sophie followed Rapunzel inside. The girl greeted her mother who had come home from work. The woman pleasantly welcomed Sophie.

Rapunzel's parents adored Sophie. They were protective of their princess. Sophie was deemed safe enough for Rapunzel to hang out with. Her parents did not know about the ruffians that Rapunzel described. Rapunzel's parents were quite regal in the way they carried themselves. Like a true king and queen.

Merida wasn't the only one that came from money. Rapunzel's parents were CEOs of a company her great-great grandfather started. How come all of her new friends were rich? Sophie wasn't sure how it happened. Okay, Hiccup may not have been rich, but his father did run a hunting shop.

Sophie followed Rapunzel into her room and the girl closed the door. She lifted Pascal up and stroked his back. She grinned at the lizard who nuzzled her affectionately. Sophie sat on the bed and kicked off her shoes. She had become comfortable in this home, having been here so many times.

Rapunzel hummed that tune she hummed so often and Pascal seemed to become uncomfortable. What? Was it the song? Was it something that came with the song? Rapunzel set the lizard on her shoulder and drummed on a dresser. She seemed… nervous.

Rapunzel crossed the room and pulled a potted plant away from the window. Her room was full of flowers and ferns, not just painted on the walls, but strung from the ceiling and around the room. She had a green thumb. Or her mother did. Sophie wasn't sure who exactly was in charge of he flowers.

Sophie was familiar with this plant. It was a golden flower. Just a single flower in the pot. It was strange, but it must have been how that specific species grew. Sophie was no botanical expert. Rapunzel had several flowers that Sophie had never heard of around her room and this was one fo them.

Rapunzel sat next to Sophie and set the pot in her hands. Sophie blinked. She smiled uneasily. Was this what Rapunzel wanted to show her? "It's… pretty." she nodded. "What kind of flower is it?"

"It's… um," Rapunzel fidgeted. Pascal was tugging on a lock of her hair. She ignored him. "It's a drop of the sun."

"Eh?"

"Promise not to freak out." Rapunzel grabbed her arm. "Promise you won't freak out?"

Oh god. Was this flower dangerous? Was it harmful? Sophie squeaked, unsettled by this sudden twist of events. "Okay."

Rapunzel hummed a few notes of that tune that Sophie had become so familiar, though she did not know the words. Rapunzel reached over and touched a petal. She took a deep breath and sang.

" _Flower, gleam and glow. Let your power shine. Make the clock reverse. Bring back what once was mine. What once was mine._ "

Sophie's eyes widened as the girl beside her sang. The flower in her hands began to  _glow_. Tendrils of light licked out and reached for the girls. What. WHAT. HOLY CRAP!

Rapunzel looked at Sophie over the glowing plant. Sophie met her gaze with wide-wide eyes and an open mouth. "You have a flower that glows."

"Not… just glows." Rapunzel gave the girl an insecure smile. "Look at your hands." Rapunzel took the pot from Sophie as the light died. The blonde wasn't sure about this. Not one bit. She turned her palms upwards.

Sitting on concret for the majority of the day left her hands scuffed and sore. But… somehow… the marks and the small bits of blood and scratches had vanished. Her hands were smooth and soft. As if she had been sitting in grass all day rather than on rough stone.

Sophie took one of Rapunzel's hands and grazed her fingers across the heel of the palm. She was just as healed as Sophie. Their hands were just fine.

"You promised not to freak out." Rapunzel quickly reminded her.

"I'm not freaking out." Sophie squeaked. "I'm friends with Jack Frost, I'm not freaking out. This is so totally not weird, I've seen stranger things. Why is this so weird? Rapunzel, how did you get this?"

Rapunzel chuckled and set the pot on the bedside table. "How I got it doesn't matter. Sophie," Rapunzel took the blonde's hands in hers. "Please just… promise not to tell anyone. Not Jamie. Not even Jack. Please, please, please."

Sophie looked to their joined hands then met those big, desperate eyes. Rapunzel had trusted her with this. She trusted Sophie enough to divulge her deepest secret.  _This_  was what Rapunzel was hiding. This was the magic that clung to her that drew her and Sophie together. This special flower that had healing properties unlike any other. A piece of the sun.

"I promise."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I brought in a little art culture I learned about in college. Yes, take inspiration from life, author. Very creative.
> 
> Kolam is a really neat idea, and I thought I'd use it. Of course, Sophie wouldn't really bother with knowing the details. She's a bit airheaded and better with the technical side of art rather than the cultural side. Although, that's what she's kind of going for, since she wants to be an art teacher. XD
> 
> Kolam is an ancient Hindu art that's still practiced today in in Hindu Temples and on doorsteps in India. Usually, the patterns are formed with dry powders, crushed stones, spices, rice powder, ect. If you want to know more or see what kind of patterns are described, you can see them at www -dot- kolamncc -dot- com


	29. Chapter 29

It had almost been a year since Jack had become human. He could see several changes in himself. Sophie had pointed out that he had grown a little. They measured him and he was two inches taller than he had been before. His hair was hard to get the way it used to and keep it that way. He would get his hair cut and it would grow in just a month. He was thinner, which Jamie had pointed out was unhealthy. It was hard to keep up the habit of eating, though. He would feel hungry, but just push it aside until meal times. That was when humans were supposed to eat, right? And he  _actually_  had a hint of a stubble on his chin. Jack had never had facial hair before. It was  _weird_.

Now, Jack had his green card. His almost-pass into citizenship. He didn't get it until much later than he wanted to. It was difficult to get anything without it. Health insurance, a license, a car, social security. Why was everything so  _complicated_?

Jamie tried teaching him how to drive. They sat in Jamie's car in a parking lot. Sophie stayed well away from the scene. She insisted the Christmas Party was enough for her, thank you. Jamie was excited. While Jack was horrible and almost ran into several stationary objects, jerking the car and unable to figure out what PRNDL meant. Jamie tried to explain, but it did not help. Park, reverse, neutral, drive, and low. What the hell was the point of neutral and why did you even need a "low" shift? Turning was difficult. Breaking was worse. Eventually, Jamie kicked Jack out of the driver's seat.

It was May when Jamie announced Laura was going to be moving in with them. She had transferred to an office closer to their apartment than her home. She had been living with her parents until now.

Jack and Jamie helped her move in at the end of May. They carried boxes from a car. Sophie and Rapunzel joined when they came back from class. Jack stood on the third floor, looking down at the second floor landing. He waited for Sophie and Rapunzel, holding the door open. Then, there was a ruckus.

Jack stepped down and peered the corner. A box had fallen and a man was helping Rapunzel pick up the contents. Sophie adjusted the box in her arms before setting it down to assist.

"Sorry, ladies. Didn't see you there," the man flashed a grin.

Sophie looked up. She stopped. "Flynn?"

The man looked at her, surprised. "Oh! Sophie! You live here?"

Oh.  _This_  guy. Jack knew him. He was Jamie's college roommate for the first two years. Sophie knocked the items out of the man's hands and plunged her hands into his pockets, searching. The man cried out in alarm, trying to push her away from him. She whacked him across the head and checked his back pockets and pulled out a necklace.

"You  _ass_!" Sophie punched his chest. "JAMIE! Jack, go get Jamie! JAMIE!"

Jack ran halfway up the stairs to fetch the man, only to almost run into him. Jack pushed himself against the rail to let Jamie pass. Jamie stopped. He grinned and pulled the man into an embrace.

"Jamie! You live here, too?"

"Upstairs! In C!"

"Oh, man, I missed you! And your rather violent sister." Flynn grinned. "She is _so_  charming."

"When did you move in, man?"

Jamie and Flynn caught up. Jack helped Sophie and Rapunzel pick up the remnants of the items. Sophie glared at Flynn and turned to Rapunzel, whispering, "Do not trust him. If you have any of value on you, he  _will_  try and steal it. You must keep an eye on it. Don't let him get close, you won't even notice it's gone until it's too late."

"Didn't he try and steal that necklace I gave you?" Jack asked, picking up the box.

"You know, I can hear you." Flynn said smugly. Sophie held her fist up threateningly before lifting her box and ushering Rapunzel upstairs. Jack had never seen the girl so… brutal. Then again, he had only been in the presence of Sophie and Flynn once and that was when she met him for the third time. She must have decided she didn't like him.

Laura curiously passed the three of them and Sophie handed her the necklace still in her fist. "Here." she said. "Go tell Jamie that bastard he's with tried to steal it. And have Jamie  _search him_."

Laura's eyes widened. She cradle the necklace and looked from Sophie to Jack.

"Flynn Rider?" Jack offered helpfully.

"Oh." The woman crossed her arms.

"Yeah." Sophie grumbled and went into the apartment, putting the box with the others.

Rapunzel furrowed her brows uncertainly. "Sophie… are you okay?"

"Yeah," Sophie brushed her hair out of her face, scowling. "I just really hate that guy."

It was weird to hear Sophie say anything like that. She was usually fairly kind and forgiving, even to those that bullied her in high school. While she did have a dislike of people, she acted civil, not wanting to cause any unnecessary drama. Sophie never outwardly expressed a hatred for another, let alone acted on it.

She sat with Rapunzel and Jack in the apartment until Jamie and Laura returned. In the meantime, she explained why she loathed him. One of the reasons was that whenever she had come across him, he stole something from her. A hairpin, a necklace, some of her paints. His usual tendencies just happened to be things that Jack had given her. Flynn had seen that they were actually something of worth. Something unique, which could fetch for a lot of money. Many of the objects were magic ice. Flynn assumed they were made of crystal or a special kind of rock. The paints he had stolen were from the Warren, which meant the color would not crack nor fade.

Thankfully, Jamie had been able to retrieve them. She had gotten them back safe and sound. Jamie wasn't able to bring anything of worth to school because of his kleptomaniac roommate. Jamie had learned how to deal with him and they actually got along amazingly well.

Another thing Sophie did not like was he was a womanizer. He would flirt with her and it would freak her out. Jamie told her Flynn knew it made her uncomfortable and that was why he would mess with her. And as much as Flynn talked the talk, he could not walk the walk. Very few women responded to his come-ons. Maybe because he was so corny or way too full of himself.

She was seething when Jamie walked in with Laura and Flynn. Each of them carried a box.

"Sophie, I see you're still infatuated with me." Flynn slid closer to her, smirking with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't make me stab you in the eye with an x-acto knife." she threatened. "I've got about four and I will use every one of them."

Flynn rolled his eyes. "I've already told you, Sophie. You're too young for me."

Sophie's fingers curled and Jack took her hand. Rapunzel seemed to have been hiding snickers behind her fist before she asked Laura if there were more boxes to retrieve. When they had been told that they had gotten them all, the brunette stood and offered to order the pizza.

Flynn watched her and smirked to Jamie.

"How old is she?" he asked lowly.

"Don't you dare go near her." Sophie hissed.

"Nineteen!" The girl called from the next room. Oh. She heard him.

Jack really hadn't gotten a proper opinion of Jamie's former roommate. Jamie had never tried to make Flynn believe in him, which Jack understood. But from what Jack had seen, Flynn actually seemed like an alright kind of guy. He was easy to talk to, sarcastic, intelligent, and knew how to throw a party. He was an orphan, which he had claimed made him rather resourceful. Which was also probably the source of his need to steal things.

Jack stood to shake Flynn's hand when Jamie introduced them. As expected, Flynn commented on how Jamie used to talk about this "Jack" often and expected him to be older. When asked why Flynn never got to meet this famous Jack, Jamie dodged the question.

Rapunzel came back, announcing the pizza was on it's way. Jamie introduced her and Sophie pulled the girl behind her defensively. Jamie rolled his eyes. Jack was sure Sophie may have been overreacting. She hadn't seen Flynn in years. Jack was sure the man may have changed.

Well… he did try and steal Laura's necklace.

As it turns out, Laura was very familiar with Flynn. They had three classed together over the course of their college career. She actually met Jamie through him. It was at one of Flynn's parties, one that he arranged for the frats. Flynn invited everyone who was attractive or cool, and he supposed he should invite his roommate. Laura's friends were invited, and so was she. She didn't plan on going, but her friends dragged her.

Much like how Flynn dragged Jamie.

They were wallflowers and in that moment, they  _clicked_. Jamie swore it wasn't the booze, though they did give him the courage to talk to her. Laura was sober and thought even with his slurred speech, Jamie was charming.

And now they were getting married, much to Flynn's "chagrin." The ol' ball 'n' chain, he put it. Though he did sincerely congratulate them and asked if he was invited. He was, much to Sophie's earnest chagrin. She warned them to lock up the wedding gifts and silver.

Over pizza, Rapunzel was the one to start questioning Flynn. What did he do for a living? What did he major in during college? Did he have family nearby? What about friends? Did he have a girlfriend? Did he read? What about instruments? Did he play any of those?

"Oh, no, no." Flynn shook his finger. "Sorry, Punzel—Do you mind if I call you that? Your name is quite a mouthful."

"No, it's fine." she waved him off. "Adrian calls me that."

"Anyway, sorry, but I do not do backstory. What I will tell you is that I went to college with Jamie and double-majored in social science and business. I'm an investor." Flynn explained.

"You mean a shark." Jamie snickered.

"If I was a mob boss, yes." Flynn smirked. "I'm still working my way there." The man then turned and raised his eyebrow to the girl. "I don't have a girlfriend. Why do you want to know? If you're trying to shmooze me, I don't think your Adrian will appreciate it."

"Oh, no." Rapunzel laughed. "I'm not his type."

Jack had met Adrian once. He was a nice fellow. He was very friendly with both Sophie and Rapunzel. And maybe a little too friendly for Jack's comfort. But he got along well with Rapunzel.

"If you're not his type, he must be attracted to trees or something." he pointed out. Rapunzel seemed like a very desirable girl, at least according to Sophie. Yeah, she was cute or whatever. But he had Sophie and that was all needed.

"Or boys." Rapunzel shot back.

Oh.  _Oh_. That made a lot of sense. Suddenly, the touchy embrace made sense. And why Adrian had called Jack cute. Well, then.

"So, you don't have a boyfriend." Flynn deducted.

"I'm not interested right now." she stretched her linked fingers above her head. "I'm looking for adventure. Maybe I'll ask Hiccup to take me on one, since his leg is working."

"Something tells me he's  _not_  looking for adventure," Jamie snickered. "I think he's done after what happened on his last one."

Rapunzel pouted. Flynn wiped his mouth with his napkin. "Hey, if you're looking for a safe adventure, there's a festival in my home town. Jamie can take you. It's on the summer solstice and do this whole thing where they light lanterns and let them float to the sky. You write your wish on a lip of paper and set it off. If someone finds it, it'll come true or some corny bullshit like that."

Rapunzel's eyes widened. "Lanterns?"

"Yeah. They kind of look like stars from a distance. They light up the night sky. Everyone is suppose to have their lights off in order to see them properly." Flynn explained.

Rapunzel grinned and stood up. "Where's you're hometown?"

"New York."

Jamie shook his head. "Rapunzel, you'll have to bug Flynn or Hiccup to take you because I am not driving you all the way to New York. I'm sorry."

Rapunzel sat down, her expression changing, as if she remembered something. There were gears grinding as she tried to put pieces together. "I think I saw them, once. When I was really young. I was in New York."

Jack furrowed his brows. Hold on a moment. "Wait, weren't you in New York when—?" When he found her wandering a forest all by herself with nothing but a flower and frozen pinecones for company.

Rapunzel only nodded, then grinned. "I really would like to see them. I hope this summer we all can have lots of adventures!"

"I hope by 'we' you mean you guys," Flynn motioned with his third slice of pizza. "Leave me out of it, thanks."

"You're wanted in New York, aren't you?" Sophie asked flatly.

"No!"

Jack wasn't exactly sure how truthful Flynn was being about that. It seemed a bit dodgy if you asked him. Regardless, Sophie eased up on him a bit for the rest of his stay. He left after eating, but not without asking for Jamie's WiFi password, which Jamie actually gave him. Sophie decided later she would change it on them. Sophie, Laura, and Jamie began to help her unpack. Jack and Rapunzel were tasked with painting the kitchen. Jack was in charge of the flat color and Rapunzel decorated the borders. They were able to start it, anyway. There was way too much moving of heavy objects that neither could push, alone or together (the fridge and stove).

Sophie took Rapunzel home after dark. Jamie and Laura had gotten most of the unpacking done. She shared a study with Sophie, moving a desk and computer into the room. There was plenty of space, and the room was full of inspiration for both artist.

Laura was a digital artist. She worked for a magazine company and set up the spreads in several different issues. She also was a website designer. Jack tried to understand how her form of art worked compared to Sophie's, but he found it hard. He was technologically inept. He could barely work his phone, let alone a computer. He had no interest.

Sophie did, though. And she envied Laura in her ability to create digital art. The blonde was completely unable to use the tablet Laura had gotten her one year for Christmas. She was awful at Photoshop. She would usually send her pictures of her art to Laura so that Laura could edit them to make them look good. Laura also helped Sophie build her art website.

Without Laura, Sophie would not have sold as many commissions as she did.

When Jamie and Laura had finished setting up the computer, they collapsed on the couch, holding hands and arms wrapped around each other. They were muttering the benefits of living together now. No more long drives to see each other twice a week. No more late night phone calls every day. No more having to text constantly. No more  _worrying_. Everything was just better and so much less stressful.

When Sophie got home, she went to her bedroom and flopped on her bed. Jack followed her and leaned against the doorframe. He watched her pull out her laptop and fiddle with something on the screen. It was all gibberish to Jack. But she understood it.

"There. Now Flynn can't use our internet." Sophie nodded.

"But he won't be getting any for a week." Jack chuckled, walking in and closing the door behind him. "You know how important internet is. You can barely get by without it."

She frowned. "I'm fine without it on my laptop." The girl held up her phone. "That's what I have this for."

Jack snickered and sat on the edge of the bed. "See? That's my point." Jack took her phone and unlocked it. That was about as much as he knew how to do. He slid his finger across the touch screen, watching it change. "I thought I would have taught you better than this. That you don't need this stuff. I never had it."

"You were also an Immortal spirit that just wanted to play." she snatched her phone back and checked a notification she received. Jack watched her until she set it down. She set her computer aside and looked up at Jack with those big doe eyes. God, she was adorable.

"Right, and before that, I was a settler. Kids didn't have this stuff until the last couple decades. They played in the streets with home-made toys and made due with what they had. Heck, kick the can was the best game ever at one point."

"Wasn't this about me changing the password on Flynn?" Sophie smirked. "You don't have to give me an old man lecture, grandpa."

"Hey! I'm old enough to be your great-great-great-great grandfather!" Jack poked her ribs causing her to squirm. "Show some respect!"

"Well, you know, looking good for being three centuries old." She smirked. "I think MiM missed some gray hairs, though." She reached up to pluck out a strand of hair which he evaded by ducking down, grabbing her legs and using leverage to flip her over his back. She cried out and landed on the floor. "Ouch."

"Whoops." he grinned. She glared at him.

"I call abuse."

"You're fiiiiiine."

"That hurt."

"There's no bruises."

"Jerk."

"You love it."

The girl stood up and brushed herself off. "I see how it is. You don't love me."

Jack grabbed her wrist to pull her towards him. "You know I do."

Her face scrunched up. "I don't believe you."

"Should I kiss it better?" he offered, pulling her arm so she was at his level. She lowered her head and pointed to where she hit her head. He chuckled and kissed it. Tangling his fingers into her scalp, he rubbed the affected area. "There. All better."

She turned up, still scowling. Jack kissed her nose, causing her to flinch. His hands moved to cup her face before he pressed his lips against hers. She didn't fight back. Sophie steadied herself on Jack's shoulders. He planted butterfly kisses on her lower lip and then pressed his lips against her harder.

He wanted her closer. This wasn't close enough. Jack grabbed her hips and pulled her onto his lap. She giggled into his mouth as she wrapped her legs around him. She left a peck on his lips before giving him a smirk he hadn't seen her wear before. Her lips moved to his jaw bone and down his throat. _Oh_. That's what it felt like when she kissed his neck. Each little touch set on fire causing his back to stiffen. Sophie nipped at his shoulder before making her way back up with tiny nips of her lips and teeth. The biting hurt, but it felt  _good_.

He captured her lips with his. His fingers found their way under her shirt to grip her bare waist. He wanted  _contact_. Her skin was supple and smooth against his rough fingers. This new urge made him curious. He wasn't sure if it was good or bad, but he knew it felt good. The need to be closer to her, the desire to… to… what was this desire?

Jack twisted them and pushed her down on the bed. He rested his elbows by her head and hovered over her, pressing his forehead against hers. She was panting, grinning like a fool. Whatever it was, she liked it. He tentatively touched his lips to hers once more. Her tongue darted out to lick him.

Oh. Hm. He drew his own tongue over her lower lip. Sophie's lips parted and he took the chance to explore. She grabbed his hair tightly in her fingers. Okay, this was good, right? This was… this was…

Jack pulled away, Sophie's tangled fingers yanking his hair. His whole body was  _on fire_. This suddenly didn't feel right. It felt good but not  _right_. He scrambled back, his face hot and his hand over his mouth.

"I'm sorry." he said quickly. "I'm so sorry."

He was sure he had seen people in the position they were just in. He had, but he never knew what to make of it. He didn't know if they were enjoying themselves or what feral instinct made them like that. It had to be instinct. Then again, he made the conscious choice to act on it. He didn't have to, but curiosity had gotten the better of him. Now  _this_.  _This_  was new.

He could not recall ever feeling the need to touch Sophie's flesh aside from just the urge to feel her heat. No, this was a different desire. This was just the need for contact. For closeness of skin on skin. He wanted to feel her softness and explore what he had never before. Well, he had felt her hips, waist, and back. But what more could he— _no_!

He wanted to taste her. Every bit of her. She wasn't  _food_ , Jack! Why would you want to taste her? Because her lips were always sweet and her skin always salty? No. Stop. This wasn't right! But… he was curious. So curious.

"No," Sophie breathed. She still wore this wonderful,  _beautiful_  grin. Her eyes were clouded and her cheeks were flushed. "No, no, that was good, Jack. It was good. It was… it was great."

_What was that?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize I put just a bit more detail into the Jack x Sophie scenes. I need to try and remedy this.
> 
> Anyway, this was difficult to write. Jack's first bit of lust. I wanted it to be classy. More sensual than sexual? I mean, it's actually a fairly innocent-ish make-out scene. He's still trying to cling to his childish ways, so this is a big what the hell am I doing? kind of moment. Testosterone is finally kicking in. XD
> 
> I hope this wasn't too... hm... smut-ish? I didn't want it to read like a lemon fic. Even if they don't even go far.


	30. Chapter 30

Jack really had no idea what had happened between himself and Sophie. He knew it usually led to something much more and he wasn't quite sure he was ready for that. He was scared because he had  _never_ felt anything like that. He knew it was supposed to be normal. Sophie assured him it was. And that it didn't always lead to… other things.

They were both clueless how to go about it. Sophie, having never kissed anyone but Jack. And Jack, never having interest in furthering what he had with Sophie. He liked the chaste simplicity that they had. But it was just kissing, right? With… tongues and open mouths and not always on the mouth. The way he had seen teens and adults kiss, whether they were in love or not.

But the heat that stirred within Jack told him it wasn't just that. You didn't kiss like that because you loved someone. You kissed like that to… become closer. He felt vulnerable in that state. He felt wide open, wanting to let Sophie do whatever she wanted to him. And she seemed just the same.

The way she described it, it was another way of getting to know each other. They opened up to one another and  _trusted_  each other. She explained that it was just one of the ways to express your desire for your partner. It didn't always have to lead anywhere. In fact, they didn't have to go far if Jack did not want to. She was in no hurry, not by any means.

She liked the kissing. Even if it was sloppy and they were both probably really bad at it. But they didn't have to do it again if Jack was uncomfortable. Jack couldn't say he didn't like it either. It was weird. And he wasn't sure if he wanted to let go of who he was. Jack felt he was slipping away. His… childhood, he could say. He had been in a perpetual state of childhood for centuries.

"Jack," Sophie took his face in her hands. Both of them were blushing so hard, this topic clearly a sort of discomfort for both of them. "This doesn't mean you're losing yourself. You're still you. It just means you're growing up." She kissed his nose. "As long as you remember where you came from, you'll be just fine."

Right. That's right. He took a deep breath and nodded. Besides, he should probably get used to the closeness and the kissing and should get used to the idea that they'll probably get further and eventually… The idea made him flush brighter and groan. But that was the only way to have kids, right? He wanted to have children of his own someday. Not now, but someday. And hopefully with Sophie.

He felt her smile when he leaned his head on her shoulder. She stroked his hair but said nothing to his comment. Did that mean she felt the same? He prayed that's what it meant. He couldn't imagine being with anyone but her, especially if it meant placing his trust and love into another human being all in one moment. If he was going to share that with anyone, it had to be Sophie.

"I love you, Sophie." he breathed.

"I love you, too, Jack." She kissed his ear.

She promised patience and understanding and Jack knew that he would not be able to find that with anyone else. This was why it had to be Sophie. All the time. He didn't care if they were soulmates or not. He was a blue hexagon and he didn't give a damn if she was a yellow trapezoid. As long as she wanted him there, he would be there. As long as she loved him, he would love her. Even if she stopped, if she moved on and found happiness in another, Jack would still love her. He would let her go, but in his heart she would stay.

They would cross those bridges when they reached them. Yet Jack was still terrified to go near them. He didn't want to leave who he was behind. He didn't want to care for things adults did like money or sex or any of that. He just… he just wanted to have fun. But this was how he had come into the world. He was technically an adult. He had to worry about these things.

He had left childhood behind with Jack Frost.

So, Jack and Sophie talked about it. They talked about the now and the future. That kissing didn't mean sex. That taking things slow was just fine as well. They could even wait until marriage if that was the plan.

Marriage. Whoah. That sounded so weird. Yes, Jack had joked about marrying Sophie to gain citizenship he should already have. But it wasn't serious. Not that he didn't want to marry her. But… seriously considering something like that… it blew his mind. Was he expecting to spend the rest of his life with Sophie? … He honestly hadn't thought about it. He sort of just felt like Jamie and Sophie were always going to be there. He never thought that what they had now would change.

But thinking now… yes. He did want to marry Sophie.

And that could wait. That could wait for when Jack was ready to grow up and ready to take on real responsibility. When Jack felt like he was ready to worry about adult things. For now, he'd just take everything in stride. And Sophie would walk with him, step by step.

Even if Jamie was so far ahead. A week after Laura had moved in, Jamie and Laura gathered the two of them, strange, excited grins playing on their lips. They held hands, exchanging bright glances and giddy giggles. Jack wasn't sure what to make of it.

"So, um, we may have to plan a wedding sooner rather than later." Jamie started. "Though, we still have time. I'm going to try harder to find a publishing company that will take me but we think we'll be okay for a while. Mom already knows. Um… But…"

Jamie looked towards Laura, as if to cue her. She gripped Jamie's hands tighter and blurred out, "We're having a baby!"

Sophie covered her mouth, releasing a screech of delight. Jack sat back, his mouth dropped in shock. Oh, wow. Yes, Jamie was  _so_  far ahead of Jack, Jack knew he'd never catch up. A baby?  _A baby_. Oh. Jack wasn't sure how to react.

He shook himself out. He embraced Jamie, congratulating him as Sophie clung to Laura.  _"Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh!"_  She squealed. Jack clapped Jamie on the shoulder, grinning from ear to ear. There were too many questions running through his mind and once the excitement died down, Jamie and Laura did their best to answer them.

They were going to stay in this apartment for a while. They weren't going to just up and leave Jack and Sophie. Actually, the reason Laura moved in was because they were expecting. The baby was due sometime in February. They would probably set a marriage date for sometime next summer. Laura wanted to have time to lose the baby weight and fit into a fabulous dress.

They weren't sure of the gender yet. They were just so very excited. An unexpected surprise. Yes, there may be some complications, but Susan and Laura's parents had offered any and all assistance they could give. They weren't worried.

Jack was blown away. He should have been expecting this. Since Jamie announced they were getting married. Jamie was grown up, even though he still played with Jack. Jamie… Jamie was part of  _two_  worlds. So… if Jamie was part of both, maybe Jack could be too.

Laura sat, holding her stomach with a huge grin. She had never looked so vibrant than she had in that moment. She was excited at the prospect that life was growing inside her. A life that was part of her and part of the man she loved.

Part of the man that she was destined to love.

Jack hadn't told them yet what Cupid said about them. He hadn't even told Sophie. He was saving that bit of information for something else. But he was so very tempted to tell them now. No, no. This would be for another occasion.

Jamie pulled Laura onto his lap, linking his fingers with hers over her belly. Jack couldn't help but smile at the sight. This kind of love was one that would fill anyone with envy. Two people who completed the other. Jack was so happy for them.

Later, Jack was walking up the stairs, carrying a bag with a cake from the bakery by the daycare. They needed to celebrate. Cake and cookies. On the second floor landing, he ran into Flynn who was walking out of his apartment.

"Oh, hey, Jack." Flynn nodded.

"Hey," Jack returned the nod. Flynn walked with him up the staircase. Maybe he was going to join them? Sophie would not enjoy that. Jack would get a kick out of it. When Jack stopped at his door to unlock it, Flynn kept going, up towards the fourth floor. Jack furrowed his brows, confused.

"Where are you going?"

"Up. I'm going to see what escape routes I can take. I know we have roof access, but let's see if I can hop the gap between buildings." Flynn smirked.

Jack stopped. What was that? "We have roof access?"

"Uh, yeah. I mean, it's chained and locked, but nothing I can't pick." Flynn shrugged.

Jack adjusted the bag in his grip and ran up to meet Flynn. "Show me."

Flynn snickered and let Jack follow him up the stairs. On the fourth floor, there was a door that led to the fourth apartment in their building and one more door. There was a chain tangled around the handle that locked it. Flynn crouched to the level of the lock with lock picks and bit his lip, tinkering with the lock.

It fell away. Flynn pulled the chains off and pushed the door open. Jack ran past him, up the final flight of stairs and opened one more door that led onto the roof. The floor was rocky and hurt his feet, but to hell with that. Jack walked towards the center of the roof, grinning brightly. He laughed.

They had roof access! Why hadn't Jack noticed?! They could go on the roof! They could see the… well, they couldn't see the stars here. But they  _could_  see the Dreamsand! They hadn't gotten a good view from the courtyard. There was too many trees and it was too low.

Jack set the cake down and ran to the ledge and hoped up on it, looking down at the street. He laughed. This was perfect! This was fantastic! This was—OOF!

Jack was pulled away from the ledge by the waist. It knocked the wind out of him. Flynn whacked him across the head. "What the hell are you doing, kid?!"

"What, did you think I was going to jump?!" Jack coughed, pulling away from Flynn.

"You looked like you were." Flynn panted.

"No, no," Jack ran his hand over his hair. "I just like high places. This is perfect. I can't wait to tell Jamie and Sophie. They're going to love it. We haven't had a proper view in ages."

Flynn raised an eyebrow. "View of what?"

Jack's lips pressed together uncertainly. "The stars."

Flynn looked up and back to Jack dubiously. "The stars."

"Yep," Jack nodded.

Flynn wasn't buying it. But he also didn't seem to care. He shrugged, "Whatever," and crossed closer to the left ledge, examining the jump distance. Jack looked up. What time was it? It wasn't dark when Jack left to get the cake but it was dark now. He called to Flynn to ask the time and when Flynn told him, Jack bolted.

He ran as fast as he could into the apartment and grabbed everyone he could touch. He told them they had to hurry. They were going to miss it! Hurry, hurry, hurry!

Jamie, Laura, and Sophie followed Jack onto the roof. They seemed uncertain if they were allowed up there. They weren't. Jack would have to learn lock picking from Flynn, who looked at them all curiously.

Jack climbed up on the roof of the entrance and helped pull Sophie up with him. Wait… wait…  _now!_

The sky burst with ribbons of golden light. Dreamsand! Jack laughed and reached for the ribbons that swirled closer than they ever had while Jack was human. He couldn't take them to a higher plane once he lost his powers. Jamie and Laura held hands tightly, grinning up at the sand. Jamie reached towards it and at his touch, a magic carpet formed from the sands and twisted around him before flying off. Laura laughed and let her sand pass under her hand as it twisted by them. A jasmine flower bloomed and was quickly swept away with the sand.

As quickly as it began, it ended. The sand having reached it's destinations, the sleepy children of this busy town. Jack wrapped his arms around Sophie's shoulders and rested his chin on her head, content. This was a good day.

"What the hell are you guys doing?"

Jamie had just noticed his friend. Whoops. It must have been strange, seeing people interacting with… well, nothing. Jamie gave Flynn a lopsided smirk.

"What are you doing? Looking for an escape route in case of a police raid?"

"You totally have me pegged, man." Flynn shook his head. "But you guys are weird. What is going on?"

The four of them looked to each other and snorted. They could not help but burst out in laughter, making Flynn roll his eyes and head back downstairs. They must have been quite a sight! Jack had to hold on to Sophie to stop himself from doubling over.

Yes, he would have to learn how to pick a lock from Flynn. This needed to happen much more often.


	31. Chapter 31

Rapunzel was throwing a pool party. Well, kind of. When Jack thought of a party, he thought a ton of people and crazy antics. Then again, he'd seen way too many of those over the past three hundred years. Parties with hundreds of people and everyone was breaking things and falling all over each other but they all looked like they were having fun. At least this wasn't crowded No, this party consisted of Jamie, Laura, Jack, Sophie, Hiccup, Merida, and Rapunzel. Oh, and Flynn Rider.

Sophie had no idea why Flynn was there. And she did not like it one bit.

Jamie said he had an inkling that she was buttering him up. Inviting him to her family's rich home, a luxurious pool, delicious food. She wanted him to take her to see the lanterns. Every time she had come over, she asked Flynn about taking her. He refused each time. Her advances were starting to annoy him, though he was quite a gentleman. He cleverly tried (and always failed) to divert her attention to Jamie who could just as easily take her.

Haha. Fat chance. Jamie wasn't driving all the way to New York. Not with his salary (what salary?) and no, he wasn't going to take Rapunzel's money. He had more class than to take something from his friend. Even if it was to fun a trip she really wanted. Jamie would direct her to Hiccup and ask him to borrow Toothless.

Hiccup did not trust Rapunzel with Toothless. Not one bit. Rapunzel hadn't had a great attention span. Yes, when it came to studies or art, she was fine and focused. But when it came to exploring, she was _everywhere_. The one time Hiccup had taken her flying, she had made Toothless dizzy and disorientated because she wanted to go here, there, and everywhere.

He could not use his leg as an excuse. Nope. Not when you couldn't even tell it was missing. If Hiccup wore a pair of capris, you would not be able to tell he was missing a limb. His latest prosthetic was made of material that closely resembled human skin in look, but not so much in texture. He had invented a fibre to imitate skin and hair and pores. It was purely for aesthetic reasons, since he did not want to keep answering the million questions a day about how someone so young lost their leg. It looked and acted like a real leg. The only thing it was missing was toenails. He could even move the toes. They were both automatic for walking and they took nerve cues from the bit of calf left below his knee. He tried to explain it to his friends. He really did. Unfortunately, none of them understood.

The prosthetic was a real wonder. Jack had never seen one like it. It was amazing and he was in awe that Hiccup could even build something like that. Hiccup was working on a patent for it. Jamie was sure he would make millions.

"Hiccup, you look horrendous." was the first thing out of Merida's mouth when she saw him. She had arrived last, unfortunately without her brothers. Well, fortunately for her. Jack was looking forward to playing with them.

"And you look radiant as always." Hiccup replied back sarcastically. He rubbed his eye, both of them carrying heavy bags beneath them. He was pale, his hair was quite disheveled. It was like… "I didn't sleep last night."

He explained he had been up all night, trying to make sure this prosthetic was completely waterproof and completely functional. The usual one could handle a shower or rain. But being completely submerged usually caused it to short circuit and break. He was sure this would work. If it failed, the best case scenario would be that it would just stop working. Worst case? Well, he just hoped he was the only one in the pool if that happened.

"So, I'm a bit reluctant to go in, as you can see." Hiccup motioned to Jamie, Laura, Flynn, and Rapunzel whom were already in the water. "I'd rather be the only casualty in such an event."

"You really are horrendous." Sophie said flatly.

Merida crossed her arms. "Sound about right. Yep. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock."

"It's actually Harald Nicho—"

"Jamie!" Merida called over to the man. "How does Hiccup Horrendous Haddock sound?"

Jamie stopped what he was doing and looked to the red-head. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hiccup… Horrendous Haddock. The third."

"The third." Merida agreed.

"Now I come from a long line of hiccups." Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"It's a suitable name," Merida insisted, lowering her voice to make sure Flynn would not hear. He seemed quite distracted anyway. There wasn't much need to lower her voice. "For the man that trained a dragon and stood up to Thor. It makes you sound… fierce."

_Zip! Thwack!_

Something shot right past Jack's ear and right into Hiccup's chest. It went unnoticed by everyone except for Jack and Sophie. Her eyes widened as the arrow burst into a shower of gold dust. Jack and Sophie met each other's gaze. Her mouth hung open, not quite sure what to make of it.

Jack did.

Cupid.

Jack stood up and looked from the source of the arrow. Sure enough, there was the cherub, standing on the fence, holstering his crossbow. Sophie, stunned, stood beside Jack.

"That's Cupid?"

"Sophie, don't say a word."

"He's really hott."

Well, she was quite forward today.

Cupid smiled, gave them a salute, and flew off. It seemed their lack of attention went by unnoticed. Hiccup and Merida were in their own conversation. Or rather, Hiccup was getting to his feet and pulling off his shirt to prepare to swim.

"Who's ready to get electrocuted?"

Sophie looked from Hiccup to Merida and then to Jack. She pointed to them without her eyes leaving Jack. "So, those two…?"

"Yeah, probably." Jack nodded. They were probably the two Cupid was going to pair. He couldn't imagine it would be Rapunzel. Or Flynn. Most probably not Flynn. If the time Hiccup and Merida had spent together was anything to go by, it was probably those two.

He wondered if Merida had already been hit. He hadn't noticed her change in attitude towards Hiccup or anyone. But Jack wasn't with them all the time. He wasn't sure what they were like alone. Jack knew he and Sophie weren't the same with their friends as they were when they were alone. Things had been more intimate. Deep conversations, hushed voices, close bodies.

Sophie opened her mouth, then closed it, scowling for a moment. Then she shrugged. "Well, can't say it's too surprising."

"Will you two get in, else I shove you in clothes and all?" Merida threatened from the diving board. Hiccup was at the edge, still clearly nervous about getting in with the prosthetic. Merida ran forward and tackled him into the water. Nothing happened. Nobody was electrocuted. Hiccup and Merida swam up to the surface, just fine. Hiccup waved his hand in the air, telling them everything was clear.

Jack pulled off his shirt and ran towards the group. He jumped into the air, pulling himself into a ball and splashing in a very close proximity to them. As soon as Jack surfaced, Jamie pushed him under and Sophie jumped on his back.

"I'm surrounded by scrawny boys and teenage girls. Why did I come to this again?" Flynn asked Laura.

"Because this place has a lot of stuff you can steal." Laura answered for him. "All of which can be caught on tape, by the way. Security system."

"Right, right."

This was true. The only people near Flynn's age were Jamie and Laura. Jamie, Jack, and Hiccup were all quite… well, scrawny. Hiccup looked like he barely stepped outside. Or ate. Or exorcised. He looked like a skeleton. Jack had always been rather lean. He had a thin build. He went to Tae Kwon Do with Jamie three times a week and he really did not build any definition at all whatsoever. And Jamie was not for lack of trying, he insisted. He had tried to build some muscle, but he had a small build. His body just did not work like that. Tae Kwon Do for sixteen years and he could not build much definition. He had strong leg, back, and shoulder muscles. But his chest and stomach refused to build anything resembling a six pack. He was just well toned.

Then, there was Flynn. Well built. Tan. He could rival Cupid, probably. Except his nose was weird. Something about his nose… Though, that may have just been Jack. And Sophie's sketches of him, giving him weird nosed and arrows in his face. Yeah, her vent sketches always messed up his face and ended with him in a pool of blood.

She might not look it, but she had some rather violent thoughts every once in a while. Far from her princess-like friend, Rapunzel. At first, Rapunzel seemed a lot like Sophie. But Sophie was much more shy and just a tad eccentric and was scared of everything. Jack sometimes wondered if they should worry about her. But she had been doing just fine on her own.

The rest of the party was young girls. Rapunzel, Sophie, and Merida. Jack was sure his problem was with  _single_  girls, so Sophie wasn't the problem. Merida was nice enough, though pretty much stuck close to Hiccup or Jack or Sophie. She couldn't find common ground with Flynn. So, Jack summed up that his problem was Rapunzel.

Rapunzel acted casual. She was nice, no pushing or coming on too strong. She wanted him to be comfortable with her. But that seemed to just make Flynn more annoyed. He wasn't buying it. He wasn't taking her bait. Nope. He reminded her he wasn't going to New York to take her to see the floating lanterns.

Jack insisted they play some pool games. Marco Polo, volleyball, a race. There was a diving contest that Laura won hands down. She was a diver in high school and through college. They walked around the pool to make a whirlpool that swept Sophie towards the middle. Jack had to rescue her. After that, Sophie sat in the hot tub, not wanting to risk drowning. Rapunzel and Laura joined her.

Jack, Jamie, and Flynn sat by the table that was covered with food. It had been several hours and Jack was famished. He indulged hungrily until he heard Flynn laughing. He looked to the man.

"You, uh, had quite an itch to scratch, huh? Your girlfriend take care of it for you?" Flynn pointed to Jack's back. He twisted to see what he was talking about. But he didn't have to see to know.

"Uh, something like that."

He really didn't want to give any details. Jamie promptly covered his ears, pretending not to have heard anything. It wasn't needed, Jack wasn't going to explain what happened.

Sophie, as a child, would often bite, scratch, or pull hair. But only when she was throwing a temper tantrum. She was quite sweet otherwise. God forbid she threw a fit. Back then, when Jack tried to calm her, her bites hurt and he was sure if he could, he would have been bleeding. Her hair pulling pulled a fistful of hair out of his head once. Her scratching left marks that healed much faster than they did on Jamie or Susan. They weren't good. They hurt.

But now… it hurt, but it felt  _good_. It hurt in all the right ways when he kissed her neck and she would scratch his back. Even when his back was bare, her jagged, chewed down fingernails felt wonderful. When he kissed her with open mouths, she would pull his hair and it felt  _wonderful_. When she straddled his thorax and she would bite his neck and shoulder and it was bliss.

He was still uncomfortable with it. They were taking it slow. They were testing waters as he tried to grow more comfortable with it and sometimes, he would ignore the nagging feeling about how wrong it was because it just felt so right with her.

She wasn't afraid to leave marks. Then again, he was fairly certain none of them were intentional. He was terrified to give any of what she gave back to her. He felt like she was fragile. Too delicate for any sort of pain he could inflict. He gave nothing more than love nips or holding her a little too tightly. He was terrified his fingers might leave bruises, but no. She was okay. She was safe.

"Gota feisty one, eh?" Flynn winked. "Why isn't she here today?"

Oh. Wow, someone who didn't know Jack and Sophie were a thing. That was surprising. It seemed everyone and their mother had become aware that there was something between Jack and Sophie.

Jamie pressed his hands more tightly over his ears and started yelling, "La la la la la LA!"

Jack jabbed his thumb at the hot tub. "She is."

Flynn took the cue from Jamie's reluctance to hear about his sister in such a manner and Jack's motion. His eyes crossed over to the hot tub and his brows shot up in surprised.

"You and Sophie?" He leaned closer to Jack. "Isn't that kind of a bad idea? I mean you guys live together. What if things get rocky or don't work out?"

Jack furrowed his brows. "I don't think so. I mean, as long as she's happy, it shouldn't matter, right?"

"And you're best friend's sister." Flynn whistled. "It just sounds like an overall bad idea to me."

"It's fine," Jamie pulled his hands away from his ears. Flynn gave him a dubious look and Jamie smiled assuringly. "It's perfectly fine. Trust me, Flynn. There's some weird circumstances you wouldn't understand. It'll be fine."

Flynn shook his head and crossed his arms. He leaned back against the chair, still looking completely uncertain about the whole situation. Jack didn't quite understand why. Then again, he didn't understand all that much, now did he?

Jack turned back to the pool and watched Merida and Hiccup at the diving board again. They were playfully wrestling with each other, hands on their shoulders and heads butted together. Jack wondered if the arrow that struck Hiccup had activated on contact or if it was lying dormant.

Hiccup's prosthetic slipped. He pushed Merida back, causing her to fall on the board quite painfully. The sound the artificial leg made did not sound good. It creaked and there was a  _snap_  and Hiccup fell sideways into the pool.

Jack was on his feet. Merida screamed for Hiccup. The water where he landed  _fizzed_. The girls were quickly out of the hot tub and Jamie was running towards the edge of the pool. Flynn grabbed him just before he jumped in. Rapunzel ran towards the shed beside the house and grabbed the skimmer just as Hiccup was floating back towards the surface. Jamie took it from her to pull Hiccup towards the edge and pull him out of the water.

Hiccup. Oh god, Hiccup. Jamie did his best to resuscitate him. Laura ordered someone to call 911. Sophie looked to Rapunzel and Rapunzel nodded before running back in the house. Flynn worked on trying to remove the prosthesis and Merida was ordering Hiccup to be okay.

It was all too much. Jack didn't know what he could do. Hiccup had to be okay. He had to be alive, right?

Rapunzel returned. She was not carrying a phone, but a flower. She pushed Jamie out of the way and Sophie crouched next to her. What? No, they didn't have time for this.

Rapunzel begged everyone to trust her. Then, she did something strange. She plucked a petal from the flower and  _ate_  it. She had trouble chewing it, but as soon as she swallowed it something  _weird_ happened. Her shoulder length brown hair began to glow gold. There was a burst of light and her hair settled, now mid-back and blonde.

… What the hell just happened?

Rapunzel took Hiccup's hand and brought it to her scalp. She sang quickly and with panic.

" _Flower gleam and glow—let your power shine—make the clock reverse—bring back what once was mine—"_  Her hair began to glow once more and-and… so did Hiccup's injuries. He coughed up water as Rapunzel continued to sing. " _Heal what has been hurt—change the fates design—save what has been lost—bring back what once was mine…_ " Hiccup sat up. Rapunzel sighed, relieved and pulled Hiccup's hand to her chest, grinning brightly and still shaking. " _What once was mine."_  She squealed and threw her arms around Hiccup. "You're alive!"

Not one person knew quite what to say. They all stared, dumbfounded at Rapunzel and Hiccup. Except for Sophie. She laughed shakily and sat back.

"You didn't tell me you could do  _that_."

She wasn't shocked. No, in fact, she seemed to know exactly what happened. Sophie laughed again, relief having washed over her. She fell on top of Hiccup and Rapunzel. Hiccup looked around, baffled and confused.

"What's going on?"

"We thought we lost you." Jamie said flatly.

"She has magic hair that glows." Merida's eyes were wide.

"W-What?"

Flynn straightened himself before crouching beside Hiccup and Rapunzel. He put a hand on Hiccup's shoulder and give him a warm, friendly smile. "Good to see you're okay, man. You're alive. Good, good." He clapped his other hand on Rapunzel's shoulder. "Thanks for the party, Rapunzel. The food was delicious. I'm going to go home now and drink a bottle of whiskey and chalk this up as a dream. But, if all goes well, I'm not going to remember any of it. See you later, Blondie."

As he stood up, Rapunzel frantically grabbed his hand. "No! Wait, please! Let me explain—"

"Sorry, this is too weird." he easily pulled himself gently from her grasp and moved towards his bag. Jamie grabbed him this time. His eyes were hard. Oh. He meant business.

"Hear her out." Jamie ordered.

"No way," Flynn shook his head. "You just saw what happened. I'm not going to believe any of it. Nope. Too weird." Flynn looked Jamie up and down and furrowed his brows. "And you don't look scared or shocked." Flynn looked around. "None of you are freaking out. Have I walked in on a cult?"

"No," Jamie shook his head. "We've just all had our fair share of weird stuff."

Flynn looked around for an ally to his cause. Not a single person. Laura placed a hand on his back and urged him forward. "Just hear her out."

This was how they all sat around the fire pit. Jamie was checking Hiccup for any resulting wounds or scars that had disappeared with Rapunzel's light. Rapunzel was stroking with her hair nervously. Merida sat beside Hiccup. Flynn has jacked a bottle of wine from Rapunzel's parents' alcohol stash. Rapunzel had no qualms as he downed a glass.

"When I was a little girl, I was kidnapped." she started, looking at the fire. "This woman took me from the park I was playing in and we travelled a long-long way. It was days. Until we reached a cabin in the middle of the woods. There wasn't anybody or anything around for miles. We were secluded. She called it our tower. I was with her for two years. I told myself when I was older, I would escape." She snorted. "I guess six enough was old enough, right, Jack?" He gave her a smile.

No, six was not old enough. But that explained why she was in the middle of the forest when he found her. She had escaped her captor and was looking for a way home.

"This woman… she forced me to call her Mother. I knew she wasn't my mother. She tried to convince me she was, show me pictures of her with a little girl. But the pictures were old. Black and white and the photographs were yellowing. There was a girl in her arms that looked a lot like me. But she wasn't me. She had light hair. She had a different nose. She was bigger. She wasn't me.

"She called me Flower. I think that was her little girl. Flower."

Jack could see Rapunzel's distress. She did not like reliving this. She did not want to remember this, yet, she still clung to the memories. Sophie took her hand and squeezed it assuringly. It was okay, the gesture told her. She could stop if she wanted to.

But she continued. "She wouldn't let me outside. She wouldn't let me leave. And the first night there, she had me drink this… tea." Rapunzel touched the potted plant between her and Sophie. "It was made from a petal of this flower.

"I wasn't born with blonde hair. I was always a brunette. Until I drank that tea. My hair turned blonde and grew longer. It grew so long… And when she sang this song, my hair would glow. The flower would glow. It didn't matter which one she sang to. With the glow, she would become younger. She used us to stay younger and beautiful. She had to be… at least a hundred years old. The way she dressed and carried herself. She was… she was old. But never looked it.

"The flower gave me it's properties. It would glow and heal any injury if you sang the song to it. She said it was a gift from the sun. A drop of sunlight. I doubt it was for her. She used it so selfishly and told me that it was to be kept a secret. If anyone knew, they would try and take it for themselves. She told me all of the horrifying things that could happen. And even still… I'm still scared to tell anyone of this." She held herself.

"I'm so sorry." she looked from Jack to Hiccup. "I felt so terrible when I heard you two got hurt. And I selfishly kept the flower to myself. Because of everything Mother told me. I'm no better than her. And I'm so sorry."

"It's fine, Rapunzel," Hiccup waved it off. "Seriously, not a big deal."

"It is!" Rapunzel stood up. "Thor took your leg, and I'm sure I could have given it back. If I hadn't been so-so—"

"Rapunzel, stop." Jack ordered. "It's okay."

"Besides, if I had my leg back, there wouldn't be any fun risks, huh?" Hiccup chuckled. "Electrocution and the like. And I wouldn't have had the motivation to make a prosthetic like this, right?" Hiccup had put on the spare, not-waterproof leg he had brought in the even the waterproof one malfunctioned. He raised it and wiggled the toes. "I'm going to help a lot of lives with these. And if you gave me back my leg, I wouldn't have done it."

Rapunzel sat back down, still fidgeting and uncertain. "If you think so…"

"So," Hiccup leaned forward. "You said your hair became darker the older you got. Does that have anything to do with this?"

Rapunzel nodded. "The effects of the eaten flower last for about ten years. Unless I cut my hair. Jamie, would you hand me the knife over there?" Jamie leaned behind him to grab the cheese knife. He handed it to her and she wiped it off using a towel. "If I cut my hair, it goes back to brown."

Rapunzel took a lock from the nape of her neck and pulled it forward. She bit her lip and sliced the lock. In her outstretched hand, it quickly turned brown.

"None of this is making it any easier for me to be sober." Flynn said. "How about you guys? Jamie? Laura? How about a drink?"

Jamie snickered. "Honestly, this isn't the weirdest thing I've seen."

"Never mind, weird stuff happens around you all the time." Flynn looked to Laura. "Here, it's okay to give the baby a swig." He held the glass out for her.

"Sorry, Rider." She grinned. "This is quite mild, actually."

"So I'm alone here?" Flynn looked around. Yep. "Great."

"I have a dragon," Hiccup said with a casual shrug.

"I've seen scarier things," Merida waved it off.

"And I'm Jack Frost." Jack smirked.

"Yeah, this is a cult, I'm going." Flynn stood up and Jamie pulled him back down.

"We're not a cult. It's fine. You're scared of a little magic?" Jamie shook his head. "Big, bad Flynn Rider. All talk. I see how it is."

Flynn shook his head. "Okay, okay, I can deal with the hair thing. The flower thing. Okay. But dragons and Jack Frost? Nope. Don't tell me any more, 'cause I won't listen." Flynn rubbed his temples. "I'm going to get some more firewood."

As he stood up to leave, Hiccup looked to Rapunzel who fidgeted with her much longer hair. He grinned. "So, you saved me. Is that magic gonna do anything else for me? Like give me some muscle or anything? 'Cause that would be fantastic."

Rapunzel laughed and shook her head. She dismissed herself to return the flower to her room. As she passed Hiccup, she kissed his cheek and told him how glad she was he was safe. Giving one last look to the flower, Jack remembered… that was the flower she had when he led her to the road. It made sense now. She had taken everything from that woman that took her. She was a smart little girl. And whatever became of the woman… Jack felt she deserved it. For taking the girl. He was sure without the flower, she would not have lived for very long if she was as old as Rapunzel said she was.

Sophie took it all in stride. Jack asked why Sophie wasn't as surprised as the rest and she explained that Rapunzel had shown her the flower a while ago, but she was promised to secrecy.

 _Thump_! "Ouch!"

Merida was to her feet and Hiccup was on his back, groaning.

"And don't scare me like that again!"


	32. Chapter 32

Jack groaned from the backseat of Sophie's car. Rapunzel, who took her seat up front with Sophie, snickered as she looked back at him. Jack was sprawled out on the back seat, taking advantage of it before he had to share it. Sophie opened her trunk and helped Merida shove her duffle bag, bow, and arrows in the trunk. When Merida opened the door, Jack rolled out of the seat and onto the floor.

"He gets carsick." Sophie explained to Merida as the red-head climbed in the back.

"You can ride a dragon, no problem. You used to fly. But you get sick in a moving car."

"Too low." Jack nodded. "And flying is much smoother.

They settled and drove off. The drive was expected to take an hour at the most. Jack shouldn't have been complaining. He really shouldn't have. But he sincerely disliked being in a car. He wished he could have gone with Jamie, Laura, and Hiccup. He could have hitched a ride in the bed of Hiccup's truck with Toothless. Or he could have ridden Toothless there.

Where were they going? Camping. There was a campground that was less of a campground and more of a forest that Hiccup's father had taken him on more than on occasion to try and redeem his manhood. When Merida had heard about it, she begged to go there. She loved the outdoors. She loved hiking and climbing and swimming and sleeping under the stars. Her father used to take her all the time, until Elinor said she needed to start focusing more on her future as a business leader.

Jack peered up at Merida.

"Someone's in a fantastic mood."

And by fantastic, he meant she was seething. Her face was pink and her brows turned down as she typed furiously into her phone. The look she gave him only solidified his conclusion. What was she angry about? She was the one that wanted this trip. Then again, these were usually the tell-tale signs that she had gotten in a tiff with her mother.

"Mum tried to set me up. For the the  _third time_  this month alone." she growled.

"Set you up with what?"

"A man." Merida rolled her eyes. "She wants me to be with someone respectable and wealthy. To give our business a good image. But they're all too stiff and stuck up. And dumb. And none of them like the outdoors. They just have daddy's money and a good name."

"That's weird that your mother is trying to set you up." Sophie said from her seat up front.

"I know. It's not for the actual  _relationship_. Just the image it will project." Merida let out a loud noise of frustration. "No, mother! I'm not pretending to be with a man because you say so!"

"Good for you Merida! Find love in your own time!" Rapunzel cheered.

Jack could not help but think love may have already found her. He smirked from his place on the floor. Hiccup and Merida were chosen for each other. He was sure they most likely weren't soul mates, but they did have enough in common and they got along well enough. Hiccup was able to keep up with her wild ways, which was surprising.

"What about Hiccup?" Jack muttered.

"What  _about_  him?" Merida glared down at him with an eyebrow raised.

"Jack." Sophie scolded in a mindful manner. He blew air between his teeth a lips. Did she really think he didn't have that much tact? … Jack did not have that much tact. But he knew better than to meddle with love. He wasn't going to tell her about Cupid.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Punzel, any idea what they're going on about?" Merida nudged the girl from behind.

"Nope."

They didn't get far before Sophie made Merida switch places with Rapunzel. Rapunzel was a horrible navigator, even with the GPS in front of her. Merida did a much better job.

The ride was spent with a lot of girl talk. More than Jack expected from these three. Maybe Rapunzel, but Sophie and Merida? Nope. They had their own interests in female topics. Like what they saw in boys. Merida went on about how she wanted someone who could keep up with her. Someone who was a challenge. Preferably and archer. Someone who liked the outdoors. Strong type. Rapunzel liked adventurous roguish types. And Sophie liked Jack types.

That was good because Jack like Sophie types when it came to girls. Merida and Rapunzel booed them, saying they were boring. But it was true. Then again, Rapunzel commented that their relationship was strange. Not bad, just strange from another's point of view.

Halfway through, they changed the topic to spare Jack. They blasted music and sang at the top of their lungs out of the open windows. Except for Jack who only felt his headache growing. He didn't say anything, though. They were having fun. He would have joined them had he not been feeling so ill. He stuck to muttered lyrics under his breath and grinning at the way Sophie panicked when she almost hit cars. She insisted they almost hit her.

As they got closer to the campsite, they talked about their plans. Or what they hoped they could do. Merida was ready to set up some targets for practice. Maybe even try her hand at hunting! Rapunzel was ready to find the closest creek and look for minnows or water bugs. She brought a book for freshwater life and another for birds in the area. Sophie was not excited about this trip at all. She hated the outdoors and disliked being away from wifi even more. She was still pale from winter while Jamie and Jack tanned from walking and hanging out outside. Jack had never been camping. He didn't know what exactly it entitled. He was excited.

At the campground, they parked next to Hiccup's truck. It was weird seeing a scrawny boy at the wheel of such a large and rugged vehicle. The occupants of both cars cried out with excitement upon seeing each other. Sophie got out and rounded over to Hiccup's window. Jack and Merida leaned out together to listen.

"Hey. You guys are going to have to get in. Your car isn't going to make it, Sophie." Hiccup commented.

"Are you serious?" Her jaw dropped.

"Yeah. Your car is probably going to bottom out if you try."

Sophie turned her car off, grabbing her GPS, music player, and phone charger. She shoved them into her bag from the trunk. Jack helped carry the bags out and fit them in the bed of Hiccup's truck.

Hiccup leaned out of the window. "Merida, you know better than to text me while I'm driving." So that's who she was messaging the whole trip.

She smirked. "And you know better than to answer."

"That's why I had Jamie reading them and answering for me."

She snickered as she approached the window to look at the man that had a gleam of mischief in his eyes. "So, that explains why you kept calling me 'babe' and 'sugar.'"

"What?!" Hiccup flushed and grabbed his phone from Jamie who cackled. As he scrolled through the messages, his face turned a darker shade of red. He glared at Jamie. "I hope you aren't planning on sleeping tonight. The moment you close your eyes, I'm beating you with my leg. I swear to god."

There wasn't enough room in the truck for all of them. Merida, Rapunzel, and Sophie sat in the bed while Jack took Toothless and flew overhead. Jack was beyond relieved to do so. The smooth flight definitely beat a rough drive through the forest. The breeze blew away Jack's headache. He felt refreshed and alive.

It wasn't the same, though. Taking flight with Toothless was not as thrilling or exciting as when the winds carried him like a napkin in the wind. He could leap across the world in a single bound. He would summersault and surf and allow himself to be carried as the wind pleased or as he commanded it. The winds were his only friend for three hundred years.

Riding Toothless just wasn't the same.

It had been just a little over a year since Jack had given up everything. He was growing to miss it.

They had found a good place to set up camp, deep in the woods. The group set up tents and a fire pit. Sophie frowned, walking around and holding her cell phone up and complained loudly that there was no service, hence no internet access. She muttered to herself that she could live a few days without internet. It was just three days. Three days.

Jamie smirked and took her phone and stashed it from her. She looked like she was three years old again and about to throw a temper tantrum because Jamie took something from her she wanted, even if it was for her own good. Jack bit his tongue. It was one of her more adorable expressions. One that just made him want to tease her more until she screamed in frustration. He would have, too, if they weren't in front of their friends.

Jack picked up a hatchet when he was ordered to collect firewood. Somehow, the handle felt so familiar. The weight of the old, rusted tool was one he was used to, though he never held on in any living memory. Jamie wasn't sure it was a good idea to let Jack handle it, but Jack was sure he could. He went a little ways from camp and cut down thick branches and collected the chopped wood on a tarp. The action felt familiar, too. All of it. When he brought the wood back to the others, Hiccup's eyebrows shot up and surprise. He commented on how quick he was and how well the wood was cut.

Then again, he admitted he shouldn't have been. Jack should be familiar with chopping wood from his time before, right? He was a kid in colonial America. He had to keep warm somehow. What his mind couldn't remember, his body did. Like riding a bike. He had most likely grown up with certain survival skills like hunting and building fires.

Jack couldn't remember though. His previous life consisted of him having fun, entertaining children, and saving his sister. He didn't even know her name. He couldn't remember being responsible in any way besides rescuing his sister.

Hiccup threw a bottle of sunblock to Jack and told him to apply it. If there was one thing Hiccup was, it was smart. His father tried to get him to ditch the sunblock and the bug spray. But Hiccup packed it anyway. He would never forget it. The boy was fair skinned and his blood was sweet, so he attracted mosquitos like a kid to candy.

When Jamie volunteered to set up the fire, everyone was actually quite surprised when Hiccup snorted and crouched by the fire pit. They watched as he skillfully built a roaring fire in under ten minutes.

"A scientist and a woodsman." Jamie stated flatly. "Hiccup Horrendos Haddock III can do it all."

"Pfft." Hiccup blew hair out of his eyes. "Just because my dad dragged me out camping for months at a time."

" _Months_?!" Rapunzel exclaimed.

"Three months was the longest." Hiccup shrugged. "A whole summer. In the wilderness. Just the two of us. It was awful. I was twelve."

The look Merida was giving Hiccup went unnoticed by the boy. Jack did not miss a beat, though. Her expression softened. A realization and a new light shed on her friend. Jack was sure nobody actually expected him to be as competent as he was in an outdoor environment, especially Merida. Hiccup hadn't talked much about his experience in the wild. Just that his father forced him into it and that he never particularly enjoyed it.

He seemed to be enjoying himself, though. As he sharpened long sticks with a pocket knife, he smiled to himself, looking quite proud. Merida took a place next to him and pulled out her own knife to help. He actually was quite a surprising character, wasn't he? He could have used Toothless easily to start a fire. But took it upon himself to make one instead.

Sophie was setting out the food they were going to be making for lunch. She frowned, the familiar expression of worry touching her brow.

"Um, so we're in actual wilderness, right?" she asked.

"Yep." Hiccup confirmed.

"So… should we, like, stash our food in trees so the bears don't get it?" She looked up at the branches. "Mom used to say that food attracted bears and stuff…"

"I think our food will be safe." Hiccup laughed. "We have Toothless around, remember? I don't think a bear will come within fifty feet of us. And when we go hiking, we'll stash the food in the car."

"A normal bear anyway," Merida grumbled and cursed as her knife slipped causing the stick to break.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Laura asked.

"Nothing. It's nothing." Merida tossed the wood into the fire and picked up a fresh stick to work on.

After lunch, Rapunzel asked Sophie and Laura to help with her hair. It was much harder to keep back now. Just two weeks ago, after she had eaten the flower petal, her hair was mid-back. Now, it reached her hips. It had grown very fast in a short amount of time. She explained that was how the magic worked. Her hair actually used to reach the floor and trailed behind her a few feet. She wasn't sure if she should cut it or not. Sophie and Laura sat with her and braided bits, twisting locks, and doing what they could to shorten it so it would not snag. And once they were done, it was in a high ponytail and just reached her shoulder blades.

Rapunzel clearly did not want to cut it. She wasn't a vain person, not by any means. She was actually quite honestly modest. But she preferred the longer, blonde hair. She admired it above her chocolate brown pixie-cut. Perhaps because she had it for so long, or because of the mental scaring that woman inflicted on her. Jamie was certain that the woman that kidnapped her, "Mother," was the reason why she was so protective of her hair and that flower. To the point where she could not share with even her friends the power it possessed. Nobody was interested in stealing her hair or her flower, and she should have known that. That was her gift. She could keep it.

They went on a hike to explore the land. Hiccup kept a map and compass on him so they could find their way back to camp. They found a stream not too far from them. And just beyond that, a cliff that was perfect for climbing. They followed the stream, passing a few other campers along the way. The group had to pretend Toothless wasn't there. They held back peels of laughter when Toothless bound around them to check them out. He stole the fish that hung from hooks, gulping them up without the men even knowing.

They discovered a pond at the end of the stream where they took a break and waded into. What was meant to be a ten minute relaxation period ended up being an hour of attacking each other with the pond water, ending with everyone drenched head-to-toe. They trudged back to camp, laughing and trying to dry their clothes out.

They made dinner as the sun was setting and Rapunzel pulled out a guitar. It was her first time camping as well, she admitted (which earned a high-five from Jack). It wasn't surprising that the girl was musically inclined. She strummed a few cords, asking if they should sing camp songs with received a rounding chorus of "NO!" Over done, overrated, no  _Kumbaya_  thanks.

So they sang songs they were familiar with. Laura held a cord book for some of the songs Rapunzel had not been familiar with playing, but knew the words by heart. None of them were as talented as she was when it came to singing. Which surprised some of them when they heard how horrible Jack was. Three centuries and he couldn't sing? That was almost laughable.

When the stars came out, they admired them. Jack climbed a tree as the bed-time for children came closer. He got as close as he could to the top and strained to see the Dream Sand. He couldn't quite reach it. Rapunzel couldn't see it, nor could Hiccup. Merida, though, was surprising. She gaped in awe as the sky lit up. She hadn't noticed the Dream Sand before.

That night, Jack was baffled by how he found it hard to sleep on the ground. He used to be able to sleep anywhere. He had slept in the sand, on hard dirt, in a tree, in mud, he had even fallen sleep on a pool raft last summer. But laying in a sleeping bag was proving much more uncomfortable than he anticipated. He felt like sleeping in a bed had made him soft. It spoiled him and now he couldn't sleep where ever he wanted to any longer.

Jamie had brought an air mattress for himself and Laura. They would have settled for mats like the one Sophie was sleeping on had Laura not been pregnant. They wanted to be careful. Or Jamie did. Jamie seemed more concerned than Laura. He was becoming quite protective.

Jack snuck out of their tent with his sleeping bag. He was tempted to grab the mat Sophie brought for him out of the truck but he had a better idea. As the boy climbed into the bed of the truck, he paused when he saw a mess of red hair already occupying the space. Merida sat up a bit and quirked her eyebrow.

"Can't sleep?"

Jack smiled sheepishly and nodded. She moved over as a show that he was welcome to join her. He spread out his bag and laid next to her to look up at the trees and stars. They laid together in comfortable silence.

"Jack… how come we just can't get along?" Jack turned to Merida, raising an eyebrow questioningly. He thought Merida and himself got along just fine. "Me mum, I mean…" Oh. Merida sighed heavily. "Dad and I are good. He's encouraging. But Mum just… she never asks what  _I_  want. It's always about her and the good of the company. And I don't mind taking over, I really don't. But… if it means I'm going to lose myself, I don't want that."

Jack snorted. "Merida. I know you. And I know you're stubborn. You're not going to forget who you are. You're going to fight it every step of the way."

"I'd like to think that," Merida nodded. "But… Mum is just so… she's just as stubborn as I am. And I want to get along with her. I do. Because I think about what you said during New Years and it hurts. I feel… guilty. And then I go right back to how things are and we fight and I can't stand her."

Jack wasn't sure what to say. He wanted Merida and Elinor to get along. But he couldn't do anything, could he? Elinor wasn't exactly his biggest fan. She accepted that he took care of her boys, but Jack was a trickster himself. She could see it in him, even if he behaved himself around her.

"I want to meet halfway. But I don't know how to get her to see it, you know? Hiccup and Stoick had Toothless. Hiccup lost his leg to get his father to pay attention to him." Merida let out a frustrated sigh. "We've had… our own problems. As a family. That could have brought us together. But we pushed it aside and moved here to escape it and it did nothing. What do I have to do, Jack?"

He frowned and gazed back up to the stars. "I don't know, Merida."

She rubbed her forehead and curled a red lock in her finger. "It's just not fair."

"Well… have you talked to her about meeting halfway?" Jack asked.

"I tried. But she doesn't want to hear it." Merida ran her hands down her face and rested them on her stomach. "I tried to bring it up. She just… she's impossible."

"I see where you get it from."

She glared at him, but she knew he was joking. Merida was stubborn and independent. Even with her friends, but they knew just how to handle her. Especially Hiccup. He knew just the right things to say and exactly the right gestures to make to calm her down and ease her.

"You're right." The girl shrugged. "We probably won't ever get along."

"I'm sure you will." Jack yawned. He didn't want to fall asleep on her. She needed to talk and he was going to let her talk to him. "You'll get there. Eventually."

"Yeah," Merida got comfortable. "Ten years from now."

Merida bid Jack good night and dozed off. Jack followed her shortly after. He didn't like that Merida could not get along with her mother. But there was no way to get through to either of them that I could think of. It wasn't his place. He fell asleep trying to come up with a plan to get them to maybe work together and find companionship, but everything that he thought of included Jack Frost magic.

Ugh. Maybe Stoick can talk to Elinor or something. They both had problems with their children, right? Stoick could make it so Elinor see that it was important to listen to your children or something sappy like that. This was too much for his tired mind to manage. The bed of the truck was so comfortable.

He fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! This is gonna be a fun next chapter. Jack's had a busy first year, huh? It'll die down eventually, replaced with more human problems. Pfft. Silly things. Then the magic will rear it's ugly head again. Bahaha.


	33. Chapter 33

Jack was awakened by the jostling of the truck bed. Merida turned to Jack and pressed her finger against her lips, urging him to go back to sleep. She carried her bow and a quiver full of arrows. Jack assumed she was going to go out in the early morning mist to shoot some arrows into targets she had set up the night before. He groaned a bit and complied, falling back into a slumber.

What awakened him the second time was a strange sound. Like the voice of a child faintly beckoning. Jack sat up and looked around. Nothing. He stood up on the roof of the car and scanned the area. Toothless was sleeping, undisturbed. Jack spotted Merida through the mist. Clearly, he hadn't been sleeping long before the sound. Then, there was a second one. The mane of red hair was disappearing into the forest. Jack quickly jumped off of the truck and ran after her.

When he caught up to her, he was breathless and she shushed him. The girl pointed to a glowing blue object on the ground. A… blue… wisp of smoke. As they neared it, another one cropped up with that strange calling sound that awakened Jack. Merida and Jack looked to one another.

"Will o' the Wisp." she whispered. "I told ye they show up around me."

"You did," Jack nodded. He wondered what connected her to these forest spirits.

He didn't have time to ponder that now. More wisps popped up and the two of them followed them. They followed them deeper into the forest. The light of the sun was growing brighter, but the canopy of leaves overhead was growing thicker. It was darkening around them, but the wisps were bright. When Jack opened his mouth to suggest they go back and grab a map, Merida shoved him and continued to follow the spirits. Okay, yep, don't get between Merida and her forest spirits.

The spirits stopped and faded. They were left in mostly darkness with thin rays of sun surrounding them. Where did those spirits lead them? Jack climbed upon a boulder and looked down into the depression in the earth.

"Merida. Come look at this."

The girl climbed up next to him. Her eyes widened just as round as his did at what she saw. A cabin. A cabin in the woods with a wooden bear carving standing beside the door. Wooden carvings of cubs and a totem pole decorated the land in front of the cabin. What was a cabin doing all the way out here? Jack and Merida exchanged glances.

This must be where the will o' the wisps wanted them to be. What would they find in there? Jack wasn't sure. They slipped off of the boulder and cautiously approached the door. A sign hung from it.

Auntie Julie's Wood Carving Services

Merida peered inside the window. Jack felt uneasy about this place. It didn't feel… quite right. Then again, it also felt familiar. Something powerful was pressing against him from all sides. He wanted to suggest this wasn't a good idea. But where was the fun in that? Risks. He was willing to take them.

Merida opened the door and stepped inside. She looked around in awe at all of the carvings and Jack followed her, closing the door behind him. An elderly woman was bustling around, stoking a crackling fire and checking on carvings that were… carving themselves with power tools.

Jack knew exactly what this presence was. "Magic…" he breathed. Merida's grin turned to Jack, then faded. She took a step back, clearly not sure what to make of him. Her jaw dropped, her blue eyes wide.

"Jack?" she whispered. What was going on? Before Jack could inquire what exactly she was staring at, there was a clattering and the buzzing of the tools only amplified.

"Ah! Customers?" the woman rounded a table to them. "Can I interest you in a carving, dears? Maybe a letter opener or a cell phone charm? Then again, what can Jack Frost want with any of that, hm? Perhaps I can offer you a tee-shirt or a mug?"

"Wait, wait, whoah! How did you—?" Jack backed away from the woman. How did she know he was Jack Frost? He looked considerably different, even without the white hair and blue eyes. Merida could not stop gawking at him and he was suddenly feeling like he was being left out of a loop. His eyes narrowed as he looked between Merida and the woman. Merida looked around herself for a moment before grabbing a custom carved hand-mirror from the table beside her. She offered it to him.

He almost dropped the mirror. He yelped and fumbled with it before looking back into the glass. Pale skin and blue eyes gazed back. White hair was a mop on top of his head. The sweat that matted his mane froze. He looked down at his clothes. His tee-shirt had frost spreading along his shoulders and chest. His shorts were freezing up his thighs. What the hell was going on?!

"I thought you had faded! Silly me. Rumors, eh? So, what can I do for you? Perhaps a new staff, eh?"

"What did you do to me?" Jack demanded, setting the mirror down. "This isn't possible. How could you—how come I'm—the magic!" Jack snapped his fingers. "You're a witch! Of course! A concentrated area of magic… it brings out the magic in anyone. Yes, yes, of course! North was telling me that. His workshop is big, so it let's the magic flow but…"

"I'm not a witch!" the woman exclaimed. "I'm a wood carver!"

"This is such a small area. And there's a huge build up. How old are you? You must be at least… five hundred years old to have this kind of power." Jack grinned, rambling on. Merida's eyebrows shot up, looking between Jack and the woman known as Auntie Julie.

"That's impolite to ask a lady, young man!" she puffed out air. "And you're way off! Seven hundred years and I still get no respect from the young-uns..."

Jack grabbed his hair, looking at the white strands. Oh, man, Sophie would have a heart attack if she saw this. Saw… wait a moment. Merida saw him! He turned to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. "You see me?!" She nodded. He laughed in disbelief. "And you say you have trouble believing I'm really Jack Frost. Ha!" Jack jumped back, holding his head. "This is crazy."

"So… yer a witch." Merida looked to the woman. "Can you give me a spell to change my fate?"

Jack froze. No. No, no, no. Bad idea, Merida.

"I'm not a witch!" Auntie Julie claimed. "Wood carver."

"But those tools were moving on their own."

"No they weren't."

"And Jack became Jack Frost!"

"He was always Jack Frost."

"Yer crow is barking orders to the broom." Merida nodded to the black crow that was requesting that the broom swept up wood shavings.

"I'm just a simple wood carver." the woman said with finality.

"I'll pay ye."

"Merida, no." Jack insisted.

"I'm not a witch," Auntie Julie repeated.

"Here," Merida pulled a ring off of her thumb and held it out. "It was me Dad's. Hasn't fit him since he was fifteen. But he gave it to me. It was his father's before him and so on for five generations. It has the DunBroch crest."

Auntie Julie took it and looked it over carefully. There was a bright gleam in her eyes. Jack grabbed Merida by the elbow and pulled her towards the door.

"No thanks, we're not interested. Merida, come on."

Merida pulled away from him stubbornly. She rubbed her arm where frost clung to her light hair. So, he had gotten his power back, too. Not just his appearance. Well, at least a little of it. He could feel his power emanating from believers. He was able to count them. Jamie, Sophie, Susan, Laura, Rapunzel, Merida, Hiccup, Harris, Hamish, Hubert, and Gil. Eleven believers. One more than he had before. Six of them were believers before Jack had given up his Guardianship The rest had… they had stopped believing. After a year of Jack Frost's disappearance, the rest had given up on him.

Jack found himself unable to focus on the task at hand. He knew he couldn't let Merida go through with this. Magic from a witch's spell sometimes led to dire consequences. Not nearly as terrible as a genie's, but you couldn't always count on the good outweighing the bad.

Jack felt himself weaken considerably. He leaned back against a wall and covered his mouth. He had to get out of here. Merida needed to come with him. Merida was completely unaware of his condition. She continued to barter with the witch.

"I want a spell to change my fate." she frowned. "Or me Mum. Either one works."

"Merida, stop," Jack groaned. She couldn't go through with that. Changing Elinor? Was she really that mad at her mother?

"But, dear, you've already escaped your fate." Auntie Julie frowned. "By leaving Scotland, you've fled from it."

"Nothing's changed," Merida swiped her hand. "Please, I beg of you."

The woman sighed and crossed over to the fire. She placed a cauldron over the flames and threw in wood shavings, a bear-shaped flute, and what Jack could only assume was magical ingredients. Jack slid to the floor, his legs barely able to support him. This was bad. Real bad.

"Merida… this isn't a good idea." Jack insisted. "It's going to backfire on you."

"I'm willing to take that risk."

Several minutes of Jack feebly trying to convince Merida what a terrible idea this was, and nothing changed. She stubbornly stood her ground and accepted the wooden flute handed to her. Auntie Julie instructed that when she was ready for her fate to change, she would play the tune demonstrated. He urged that she should think it through before she played it.

Merida was grinning, bouncing on her toes. She thanked the woman, taking her hands in both of her and shaking warmly and gratefully. Jack leaned his head back. Nothing he said was going to change her mind. He would have to find a way to take the flute from her. He would have to get the others to help him. If anyone could get it from her, it had to be Hiccup.

"C'mon, Jack!" Merida opened the door. "Let's go!"

"Help me up." he sighed, holding his arms up. He couldn't stand on his own.

"Dear, you should try and gain more believers." Auntie Julie commented.

"Yeah, I'll get right on that."

Merida pulled him to his feet and he fell into her. She staggered before she was able to steady him. Why was it so hard to even stand now? Before, he was able to even fly. But now… it must have been the sudden change. From human to heavily weakened Immortal threw him off. Oh, boy. Stepping outside was going to be a doozy.

And it was. Merida helped him outside and he had to take a moment to gather himself. The surge of strength brought a dizzy spell and muscle spasms. He dropped to his knees, pulling Merida to the forest floor with him. He scowled at her.

"Don't you dare play that flute." he commanded with as much authority as he could muster.

"Why shouldn't I?"

"Merida. What did she mean when you said you escaped your fate already?" Jack gripped her sleeve tightly. "Please, just  _think_  this through. You don't need magic to change your fate."

Merida glared at him and shoved him off. He could see ice melting on her shirt. The frost was melting off of his own clothing. He watched as she marched off in the direction they had come from. Jack let out a yell of frustration. He could barely move. She didn't understand what she was getting herself into. And she was leaving him in the middle of the forest where he had no idea  _where the hell he was_.

He stumbled to his feet and tripped after her. Once he caught up, he threw his arms over her shoulders and sighed.

"Okay. I'm sorry." He sighed in defeat. "Help me, please."

"What's wrong with ye?" Merida huffed, rolling her eyes. He could tell she pitied him.

"I didn't have enough believers." Jack mumbled.

She didn't understand. Of course she wouldn't. She slung Jack's arm over her shoulder and helped him walk until he could move on his own. They had made it to the brighter part of the forest when a shadow flew over them. There was a snort and a black dragon landed behind them. Thank God! Toothless and Hiccup!

"Where did you two go?" Hiccup demanded as they climbed on.

"We found a witch!" Merida exclaimed excitedly.

"I can tell this is going to be an exciting story to hear over breakfast." Hiccup snorted.

Breakfast. Breakfast sounded wonderful.

Back at camp, Jack slid off of Toothless and Jamie took one look at him before making a comment. "You look like hell."

"Thank you. You're quite the looker yourself." Jack winked playfully.

Jamie pulled him up straight as Jack stumbled again. "What happen—holy shit, you're freezing."

Sophie quickly crossed over and held his face. She commented on how pale he looked and he waved their concern away. He assured them he'd be just fine. They would explain what happened, but first he needed food. Jack sat in one of the chairs that they had set up around the fire, shivering. He was cold. Way too cold. Why didn't this happen when MiM made him human? This was a terrible reaction to the change and he preferred not to experience it again.

As Jack scarfed down food, Merida explained where they went. How they followed the the will o' the wisp and how it led them to the witch's cabin. Jack explained how the concentration of magic brought out his own and made him Jack Frost again. Effects of the lack of believers and all. Merida showed them the flute she purchased.

"Guys, get that away from her." Jack instructed. "It's a bad idea. Magic always comes with a price."

"What was yours?" Merida rolled her eyes.

"Amnesia and immortality and watching anyone I grew any attachment to die." Jack said flatly.

That shut her right up. He understood what she wanted, though. He understood that her mother just would never see her eye-to-eye and it made her miserable. But this wasn't going to fix anything. This wasn't going to work. It might even make things worse. He didn't want that to happen to her.

Sophie had her arms wrapped tightly around Jack, trying to warm him up. He was still so cold from the  _inside_. It wasn't like winter cold, how it touched him from the outside. It was radiating from his core. Sophie's warmth was familiar. Like when he was a winter spirit. He leaned into her and nuzzled her neck.

"You smell like winter." she chuckled.

"You miss it?" Jack questioned.

"Hm… sometimes." she admitted, watching the others turn to Merida and examine her flute. She hadn't played the tune she was instructed. Jamie played a note and cringed at the awful sound it made. Sophie met Jack's eyes. "But I know I won't miss it for long. Winter will be here before you know it and Jack Frost will come out to play."

Jack kissed her neck and pulled them closer to the fire. He needed to warm up. Laura, Merida, and Rapunzel decided to take Hiccup's truck to the bathhouse to shower. Hiccup warned them the showers were cold, but they needed to bathe. Merida would have been fine without a shower if she hadn't gone on the hike with Jack that morning. Sophie would have gone with them, but she was more concerned about warming Jack up.

"Quick, guys, while she's gone, look through her stuff and get the flute." Jack instructed. "We'll throw it in the fire and say Toothless wanted to play fetch but lost it." Toothless let out a disgruntled growl.

"She won't play it." Hiccup shook his head.

"What makes you so sure?" Jack rose an eyebrow.

Hiccup shrugged. "I dunno… just… she says all this stuff. But I know she wouldn't actually go through with it. She's impulsive and strong-headed. But… she's just…"

"Hiccup?"

"What?"

"How do you feel about Merida?"

Sophie whapped Jack across the head, causing him to yelp in pain. She was supposed to be nursing him! Not hurting him! Ugh!

"Never mind," Jack grumbled. "I already know."

"What are you talking about?" Hiccup's face was beat red and looking anywhere but at the three of them. Jamie smirked.

"It's okay, man. You can tell us." Jamie assured him.

Hiccup sighed heavily and pushed his hair back in frustration. "It doesn't matter how I feel about her, okay?" He tensed. "Girls like Merida don't go for guys like me. She's not even interested in dating. She's made that clear, hasn't she? She values independence. And… and those guys her mom tried to set her up with? The reason she doesn't even give them a shot is because they aren't  _interesting_  enough. She met them, you know? She talked to them. The one kid sails takes a yacht out during the summer on his own. Travels the world. She said he was boring, guys.  _Nobody_  does stuff like that.

"She wants someone who can drink like a sailor, keep up with her at the archery range and let her be independent." Hiccup ticked off each trait. "I can offer  _one_  of those." He shook a finger for emphasis. "Besides, I'm no Flynn Rider. Girls tend to stay away from me. I repel them with my nerdiness."

"Hiccup—" Jamie tried to intervene, but the boy was on a roll.

"I had a girlfriend once, you know. Surprising, right?" Hiccup laughed. "She was… she was actually a lot like Merida. Fierce. Independent. Strong. Her name was Astrid." Toothless growled at the name. "I grew up with her. I loved her for as long as I could remember. But she… the difference between Merida and Astrid was that Merida noticed me from the beginning. Astrid didn't. She knew who I was. But she didn't… she never so much as looked at me until I won that stupid award. It was for bettering our community or something stupid like that for something I made when I was thirteen. It's probably busted up by now. That was when Astrid noticed me.

"We dated for a little while. She would never believe Toothless existed, so I never told her about him. She knew I was keeping a secret and she just… she couldn't stand that. We tried and it just… we didn't seem compatible." Hiccup ran his hands down his face. "That's why strong, athletic girls and me don't mix. I know. I've tried it. It ruined everything."

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III." Jamie stood up. "Just because things didn't work out with Astrid doesn't mean they won't work out with Merida. You are belittling yourself and I will not have that. Besides, how do you know if you don't try?"

"What if I try and I ruin everything?" Hiccup argued. "What am I going to say? 'Hey, Merida, I like you. Let's go see a movie?' Like that'll work."

"Guys, let's just let Hiccup do his thing, okay?" Sophie suggested meekly. "It's okay for him to be nervous. It'll work out."

"It's not just like magic," Jack muttered. "I don't think it's just Cupid's magic that brings people together, Soph."

"Yeah, and pushing them is going to make it better?"

Hiccup and Jamie hadn't seemed to have heard what Jack or Sophie had said. They had gotten into it, Jamie insisting that Hiccup was interesting and that he was compatible with Merida. They hung out all the time as it was. Why weren't they already dating? Hiccup insisted it wasn't that easy. Jack would have joined in the bickering had he not been so tired. He was warming up. Sophie's heat and the fire had done their job. Jack had gotten up waaaay to early. He would have liked a nap after breakfast.

At least Hiccup admitted it. It was out there. Maybe Sophie and Rapunzel could get Merida to admit she liked Hiccup. Or maybe Cupid's arrow hadn't shot her yet… What if that was the case? That would complicate things for them.

But, Jack was sure since things were in Cupid's hands, it would all turn out well. Right?

Jack stood up and stretched. Whelp, time to go through Merida's things and look for that flute. He just hoped she didn't bring it with her.

Because if she had already escaped her fate, he would hate to see what it would become.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I gave the wood carver/witch a name, since she doesn't have one. I named her after her voice actress. Though, I'm sure she changes alias's over the centuries. XD
> 
> And I do ship HiccupAstrid! Buuuut Astrid isn't gonna be in this fic, so Mericcup. And I like Mericcup. XD I haven't given Merida enough love in this fanfic, so I figured she needed a chapter of her own and a segue into her arch. We're still working on Merida and Rapunzel's! It'll probably take a while for either to bear fruit. I've got plans. Yep.


	34. Chapter 34

Merida had been able to hide the flute for the rest of the weekend. She kept it away from Jack and nobody had been able to confiscate it. She was sneaky and hid it. But she did not use it. She did not play that tune the witch had showed her to play. By the end of the weekend, Jack was certain Merida wasn't going to play the flute. She had it, perhaps just to make herself feel in control? Jack wondered. Maybe she didn't really want to change her fate or her mother. Maybe in bouts of anger she became frustrated with how he life was, but maybe in reality she was content with her place?

Jack wished he knew what she was thinking. Hiccup seemed to understand her perfectly, though. He laughed and he and Merida would talk about what might happen if she played that tune. How would her life change? What would be good? What would change for the worse? Speculation and longing was all she would settle for, it seemed.

July became August and Merida still had not changed her fate.

Rapunzel and Flynn hung out with Jack, Sophie, and Laura in their apartment. Laura needed Flynn and Jack to move her desk so that she could fix something with the computer and offered Flynn a beer when they were done. Rapunzel laid on the living room floor, drawing with Sophie. Jack was reading over Jamie's manuscript for his book for the umpteenth time. The edges of the paper were curling and fraying from the amount of times Jack had read it.

Flynn leaned against the doorway. Jack could see his eyes on Rapunzel.

"Hey, Blondie." Rapunzel looked up with that bright smile of hers. Jack continued to pretend to read as he watched them. "Sorry I couldn't take you to see the lanterns." He rubbed the back of his head. "Some things came up and I got sidetracked."

"I thought you weren't going to take me," Rapunzel said slowly as she sat up.

"Well, I kind of miss the place, you know?" Jack forced a straight face. He knew that had nothing to do with taking Rapunzel to see the lanterns. "Besides, you've been begging me since we met. I figured the only way to get you to shut up about it would be to take you." Jack was sure that wasn't the only reason either. The way Flynn addressed her… he was sure he had other reasons for actually wanted to take her. He couldn't quite pinpoint it. But he was beginning to think they were actually friends.

She gave him a kind smile. "It's okay." she assured him. "Next year, okay?"

"Next year." Flynn agreed.

"Promise?"

"I swear."

Jack hid his smirk behind the manuscript. Maybe Flynn wasn't as bad as Sophie said he was. Besides, Jamie was an excellent judge of character. Which meant if Jamie thought Flynn was a good guy, he really was a good guy. And this was excellent proof. Sophie still glared at him and Rapunzel quickly signed her name at the bottom of the piece of paper before giving it to Flynn.

"Here!" She offered. "For you."

"I've already got a million of your drawings, Blondie." Flynn took the paper with a crooked smile. While he sounded reluctant to take it, his soft smile said otherwise.

"I know." She beamed. He snorted and set the picture down on the trunk that served as a coffee table. He bat at Jack's legs and the boy twisted to let the man sit with him. Flynn kicked his legs up and returned Sophie's dirty looks with a snarky smirk.

"Is this all you guys are doing today? Drawing and reading?" Flynn looked from the girls to Jack. "You should be more productive. Like Laura."

"Damn right." She called from her place in the study.

"We are," Sophie growled.

"Right!" Rapunzel clapped her hands together. "Sophie and I are drawing for a story book!"

"How's that going?" Flynn asked, taking a swig of his drink.

"Er," Rapunzel rubbed her arm. "Not so good. Sophie and I aren't good at story-telling."

"Don't tell him that!" Sophie blurted out. "We're creative masters of art. We are the best at everything."

Jack snickered. "What's your story about?"

Sophie pouted. "We're brainstorming."

Jack shook his head. He knew Sophie wasn't good with stories, not in the least. They never really made sense and there was nothing cohesive about them. She had tried, but failed several times. Nina, Kyle, and Gil liked them, but only because they liked the way Sophie told them. She was silly and playful, but her strange "morals" always seemed to get lost in the game. The best way she could tell a story is through her art. Pictures without words. That was what she was best at.

"Hey, Jack," Rapunzel turned up to him. "What does Athena look like?"

Rapunzel had asked Jack about Athena several times. The Ancient Greek goddess of wisdom. The topic was brought up a little while after Hiccup and Jack's encounter with Thor. Rapunzel explained that Sophie told her Jack had met the goddess and hadn't quiet stopped asking since.

Jack only had a brief encounter with her. She wasn't alone. Artemis, goddess of the hunt and moon was with her. The thing about Artemis is that she wasn't goddess of the moon exactly. She was responsible for night while her brother, Apollo, was in charge of the day. They brought the day and night to the world, not necessarily the sun and moon. Mortals had assumed the correlation and it sort of stuck around. Artemis was one of the few Immortals that had regular contact with the Man in the Moon. She wasn't much for saving children. Mostly young maidens. So, she had never been offered a place among the Guardians, despite the friendship with MiM.

Also, she didn't speak a lick of English. She was a proud woman (in the form of a fourteen year old girl when Jack met her) and she kept to the old ways. So, she spoke Ancient Greek.

Artemis had come across Jack after he had fled from Toothless. She glared at him most of the time, though he had no interest in the Hunters that surrounded her (who also only spoke Greek, even though some of them seemed more modern than others and two were Asian and one was North American). Athena had appeared to calm the girl and assure her Jack had not meant the dragon any harm.

Athena translated for Artemis. Artemis explained the age of the dragons and the Vikings that slayed them. She told him of the different kinds, the benign ones and the vicious ones. She warned Jack against the Night Fury and to stay away from him.

When Artemis moved on, Athena stayed with Jack. She had seen he was alone. That he rarely had contact with other Immortals and took pity on him. She was kind, though strong. She did not fail to intimidate him with piercing gray eyes and a tall stance. He felt her gaze see right through him. So, she stayed and told him about the gods. How most were arrogant and he should do his best to avoid most of them. She was not like them. She understood her place in the world, explaining she was no better than him. That made him feel better. To this day, he still wondered if Artemis saw herself the same way Athena did.

Jack stretched and put the manuscript down. "Athena… she had… gray eyes. She was tall." he stood up and motioned to her approximate height. Thinking about her was fuzzy. Wait. It was fuzzy. What did she look like? "She… um… she seemed… strong." Jack sat down and held his head. "She… God, what did she look like? She had… dark hair? No… it was… Was it dark?" He hadn't thought about her appearance in a long time. He just had to dig it out of the recesses of his memories, right? He had so many filed away, he just needed to find the right ones. Where were they? His mind sifted through a million memories, a million encounters and… He couldn't even recall her words.

"Athena had gray eyes. She was tall. She was powerful. She saw right through me." he recited. "She… was…. was she slender?"

"Jack?" Sophie crawled over to the trunk and leaned on it, concern creasing her brow.

"I can't remember." Jack realized. "I can't remember what she looked like. I can't remember what Artemis looked like, either." He clutched his hair, his heart racing in panic. "I don't remember them!"

This wasn't happening. No, Jack Frost never forgot. He never forgot his life as the winter spirit, not one second of it. Everything was in tact, even after he gave up his Immortality. Yes, he did have trouble getting over the fact that as a human he was likely to forget small details. But not of  _that_  life. That life was never forgotten. What else did he forget?

"Man, relax," Flynn slapped Jack on the back. "It's okay to forget stuff. When did you meet this Athena chick?"

Jack took a moment to calculate. When did he meet Athena again? "About… two hundred and forty years ago? I think?"

Flynn was silent for a moment. "Again with this magic stuff, right?"

"Yeah."

Flynn stood up and left to chat with Laura. Jack didn't care. Flynn was never interested in hearing about his "Jack Frost business." He could barely handle Rapunzel's magical hair and flower. Rapunzel insisted he would warm up to it. At the moment, Flynn's ignorance was the least of his problems.

Jack got to his feet and began to pace. "Ask me about other legends." Jack ordered Rapunzel and Sophie.

"Um… Yuki Onna?" Sophie offered.

"Who?" Jack stopped and furrowed his brows. The name sounded so familiar.

"A Japanese legend. The snow woman." Sophie explained.

"Did I… did I ever talk about meeting her?" Jack asked.

Sophie shook her head. "No. But she's a winter spirit, so I figured you may have crossed paths with her at some point…"

Jack pressed his palms against his temples. He might have heard of her. He may have been told about her by another Immortal. He couldn't remember, though. He couldn't recall who had even mentioned her. "Name another one."

"The Leprechaun?" Rapunzel suggested.

Jack remembered her. Clear as day. A fiery red-head with a hot temper. Actually, she and Merida would have gotten along pretty well. "Yeah, I remember her. Another one."

"Jack." Sophie stood up and took his hands, pulling them away from his face. "Jack, look at me."

He felt sweat bead on his forehead. This wasn't good. This wasn't right. He was supposed to remember everything. He wasn't supposed to forget. "Sophie… I  _can't_  forget." he urged. He didn't want to lose any of it. Any of those lonely moments, the feeling of heartbreak, the loss of hope. The fun times, the best time, the day he was inducted into Guardianship. He wasn't supposed to forget. Those memories were what made him who he was. "If I forget, I'll… I'll…"

She took his face. "It's okay, Jack."

Jack backed away from her. "It's not okay!" His heart wrenched at the look of hurt that crossed her face. Damn it. He didn't mean to do that. But it wasn't going to be okay! Not if he was forgetting! "If I forget, I'll lose everything, Sophie." he explained, feeling his throat tighten. "I don't remember who I was… I don't remember Jackson Overland. I don't want to forget Jack Frost, too."

"You won't forget." Jack jumped. He turned to face Laura who crossed her arms with a worried frown gracing her lips. She passed him and picked up Jamie's manuscript and put it in his hands. "What's in here, Jack?"

Jack looked at the book. "My history."

"Right." Laura nodded. "What's in Sophie sketchbooks?"

Jack frowned. "My adventures."

"Right." Laura nodded. "Jamie and Sophie have been cataloguing your life since you've known them. You tell them everything. They put it down on paper. What you need to know? It's all here. It's all immortalized in their work. If there's anything you haven't told them that you don't want to lose, you should tell them as soon as you can. You know them. And you know they'll make sure it's written or drawn."

He knew she was right. But just because it was taken down doesn't mean everything was going to be alright. What if he had already forgotten something really important? He knew he pushed memories to the back of his mind. What if his filing system was already deleting them? Just because he put them away for later didn't mean he wanted to forget them. He supposed he could have been called a pack rat or a hoarder. He hoarded his memories. He didn't want to let a single one go.

What about that one Cupid spoke about? That moment when Jack realized Sophie was no longer a child? What happened to that one? Was that one gone, too? Which one was that one? There were a few times Jack realized Sophie was growing up. Oh, god, where was it?

"Jack." Laura grabbed his wrists and he realized his hands were shaking. "You're going to forget. It's going to happen," she said. Yes, she was really helping him here. "It's probably going to happen slowly. You won't even realize those memories are gone until it's too late. But you'll remember the most important ones. I promise. If it's a memory that helped shape you, you'll never forget it."

He believed it. Oh, god, he believed it. He knew Jamie and Sophie would be able to make sure he kept the memories he needed. He knew Laura was right, but the way his heart was pounding and his head was spinning and he just needed to sit and think and figure out what the hell was going on. Jack pulled away from Laura.

"I need to be alone." he said. He noticed his voice was unsteady. It was hard to breathe. Jack looked from Laura to Sophie who reached for him. The boy shied away from her touch and bolted for the door, ignoring calls for him. Were they going to go after him? He hoped not. He didn't need to be told everything was going to be okay or that they could keep his memories for him. He didn't want to read about his life or see drawings of himself.

He wanted to remember them for himself. He wanted them right here. With him. He wanted to be able to call a moment of his life at the drop of a hat. He wanted to keep them all for himself and tell stories and relive the most exciting parts of his life when humanity became dull. Being human was boring, yes, occasionally. He couldn't fly or skate or run around in the middle of winter barefoot anymore. He couldn't surf on frozen waves or along air currants. But being human did have it's perks. These memories of being Jack Frost reminded him of those.

He was visible. To everyone. Not just a handful of kids along the east coast or in Burgess. Every single person he had come across. And he was no longer alone. He had friends now. He had family. He never felt alone, not once since he had talked to the Man in the Moon. Since the Moon granted him this final gift.

Yes, when he became a Guardian, he finally had a family. But, god, it was nothing like it was now. Jamie and Sophie… they were always there. There wasn't a moment they weren't. And Susan. Jack never had a mother before and Susan was probably the closest he would ever get to having one. She was there just as much as Jamie and Sophie.

Jack sat on the roof after trying to pick the lock with shaking hands. He jumped on the fire escape and climbed. He needed to be higher. He wanted to reach the sky; the place he would go to clear his thoughts. But he couldn't reach there. He would never touch the sky again.

He sat on the highest point and contemplated. He went through his life. Beginning to end. He had to have been sitting there for hours. The sun began to set and he discovered blank points. Black out spanning seconds or minutes even years. May 14, 1920 through November 7, 1924 was a complete blank. Like it never even happened. All of June 1890 was gone. April 20, 1730 he lost about three hours.

He felt like there were holes in his chest. What happened during those times? Something important? He prayed not. His head hurt and his chest was hollow and breathing was still really difficult. He wiped sweat from his brow. Was this what Sophie felt during her anxiety attacks? Racing pulse, dizzy, hard to catch his breath. God he hoped not. It was not pleasant in any sense. Far from it. She told him what it felt like and… this seemed pretty damn close.

He smiled. Sophie. He remembered. She was fifteen. She went on a trip to an art museum with school and Jack went along. She wasn't looking forward to it. She hated the idea of visiting a museum asked Jack to come along to entertain her. She hadn't quite grown into her art interest yet. Almost there. This was where she discovered her passion. That art just wasn't about Madonna and Child portraits or DiVince and Renaissance. She doodled often and liked drawing but she never saw it as "art."

They had entered the modern art section. Jack never really had a particular interest in art, though he knew a lot about it. He tried to explain some of the more interesting things but she would frown and check her phone, clearly bored and just wanting to leave. So, Jack stole her away. This wasn't the right museum for her to be at. This didn't have the… spirit of what art really was.

They snuck away from the field trip. He'd only need an hour. They flew, her clutching to him the whole time and she didn't have a single clue where he was taking her. He took her to a museum with a much wider variety of art. A huge building in New York. The Museum of Modern Art. There was a featured exhibit from a movie director she liked and they passed through, a huge smile crossing her face the whole time. He took her through the photography section, they looked at strange statues, they even saw a living piece of art. A man sitting at a table, holding completely still. A woman was brought up to sit across from him.

He opened her eyes to art. It was passion. It was fulfillment. It was  _fun_. And when they flew back to the museum her class was touring, she stood in front of a statue made from recycled parts. She saw the piece with a whole new perspective. She crossed her arms, eyes glistening in awe and her mouth barely tugged at the corners.

"I want to do this." she said with a nod. Her fringe covered half of her face as she looked to Jack. "I think… I really want to do this. I want to make art."

Her green eyes were set, determined. She had never looked more grown up than she did in that moment. Her discovery for her passion in life. He swelled with pride but then… his heart stuttered. He clutched his chest, confused. He looked back at her, her expression so full of fervor, and it did it again. Heat rose to his cheeks. What the heck was that? He didn't have time to think of it at that moment and he didn't want to. He had just realized Sophie was growing up. Soon she would be an adult. And what if she no longer had an interest in Jack Frost, her childhood playmate?

Another thing he didn't care to think about. So, he shoved those thoughts behind him and smiled at her and ruffled her hair, telling him how proud he was of her.

Now, in hindsight, Jack realized that his heart skipped a beat for her. He had fallen in love with her in that moment. He hadn't realized how very important his role was in Sophie's choice until now. Jack made such an impact on her.

"Jack?"

Jack jumped and looked down. Sophie stood below him, her arms crossed uncertainly and worry tugging at her lips. She shuffled on the gravel nervously. He hadn't heard the door open. He hadn't heard her walk on the roof. Jack felt a twinge of pain as he remembered pulling away from her and snapping at her. He felt horrible. He never expected he'd do that in a million years, especially not to Sophie. She was just trying to help.

He sighed heavily. "Sophie…"

"I'm sorry," she averted her gazed, holding herself tighter. "I'm not.. very good at the whole cheering up business." She snorted. "Which is funny because I should be, right? I throw enough fits, you and Jamie are always there to bring my spirits back up. I should have learned a thing or two about calming others down from you guys, right?"

"Soph—"

"I know it's not going to be okay," Sophie interrupted him and continued. "They're your memories. After losing them the first time, you'd want to hold on tight to the ones you got, right? You've been through three lives. If you're going to forget who you were in the life before… How are you going to learn, right? From the mistakes you made in that last life. You'd be bound to repeat them. Well, maybe not since you were Jack Frost and it's hard to freeze over an entire city when you don't have the magic to do it. But… what drove you to make those mistakes is important. Don't forget the lessons. And…" she sighed and rubbed her face. "I'm not helping. Have you calmed down?"

Jack grinned. Her distress was actually sort of cute sometimes. How much she was trying was adorable. "I think so."

"That was some panic attack." Sophie chuckled. "Couldn't be bothered with the lock? Flynn had to let me in. Jack. I had to ask Flynn to unlock it for me. Do you know how annoying that was? He wanted me to give him one of those paints you gave me in exchange."

"Did you give it to him?" Jack frowned.

"No, I held an exacto knife to his throat."

"You're kidding."

"Yeah, but I wish."

Jack's grin widened. Sophie was a constant. She was always going to be a constant. Jamie, too. Right? Well… maybe not. He kept doing things that surprised Jack. Like marriage and babies.

Sophie eased up when she saw his smile. She put her hands on her hips and cocked her head just so, those green eyes glittering in the orange light. "Do you want to come down and talk about it? Jamie will be home in about an hour. We can get started."

He wasn't quite ready to get down just yet. Instead, he pulled Sophie up to join him, wrapped his arms around her, and rested his chin on her shoulder. He apologized. He apologized for causing that pained look and for pushing her away and for being an overall crazy jerk. He needed to because he loved her and he didn't want to see that look ever again. He didn't want to be the cause of it.

She kissed him and promised him she understood. She had been there more times than she could count. Remember, just last week, Jack? There was a call from a gallery asking for her to come in the following day with a piece. She freaked out. Short notice and most of her work wouldn't fit the theme they posed. She needed to make a new one, she thought. She panicked and went through her portfolios, trying to find anything that might fit. Bam! Panic attack.

She didn't handle deadlines well. Especially not short deadlines.

He didn't want her to have these anymore. He didn't want her having them before, but now he had experienced it… He wanted to try and find a way to stop them. She would take medication for them. It helped, but she still experienced them every now and again. He knew he wouldn't be able to end them. It made him feel… hopeless.

But she just took it all in stride. He wondered how she did it.

When the sun had set, Jamie and Laura met them on the roof. Jack finally climbed down for dinner. He hadn't eaten since breakfast and he was starving. Over dinner, Jack explained what he had been doing all day. How he was going over everything he remembered, trying to recall fuzzy faces and muddles names. Areas where it was just a whole lot of nothing. He remembered a lot of important events that shaped him.

After dinner, Jamie sat down with Jack on the living room couch and his laptop. He explained that Jack would talk to the computer and it would record what he said. Jamie wanted him to be as detailed as possible. He knew it would take more than one sitting to repeat three hundred plus years of memories. But they would record them all chronologically and Jamie would back it up a hundred times if he had to. They would make sure not to lose the files.

So, they began…

"Darkness. It's the first thing I remember. It was dark, it was cold, and I was scared."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been waiting to bring this up~ Fun chapter to write indeed! I'm sorry. I used the first lines of the movie and I know how cliche that is but couldn't resist.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter~


	35. Chapter 35

" _Oh yeah, I'll tell you something—I think you'll understand—When I say that something—I wanna hold your hand_ ," Jack sang softly, pressing himself against her back close, holding her tightly against him, and lacing his fingers through hers. Her heavy, panicked breathing was finally slowing down. Her muscles relaxed against him as she brought their hands to her lips. He continued to sing to her gently, softly, and it was much more like a serenade. Of course, if anyone knew Jack was a horrible singer it was Sophie. He sang to her every chance he could get. He himself couldn't understand it, but it is what it is and he didn't mind and clearly she didn't either.

This wasn't the usual song he sang to her. But he had heard the song playing from Laura's computer the other day and it had been suck in his head since. Jack had always been a huge fan of the Beatles. Without them, music wouldn't be what it was today. Although, most of the more popular stuff was crap, bubblegum, annoying—you get my drift. Jack Frost didn't enjoy mindless, useless lyrics put in front of the same tune you heard in the song before it. But that was the popular stuff.

See, when you get to the underground stuff, that's where it got interesting and deep and sometimes brought tears to your eyes if you heard them live because the music was just so profound.

But this wasn't about music. It was about Sophie and it was about bringing her down from the first panic attack she's really had in weeks. She had a few, but nothing she couldn't push down and shake off. This was much worse. One that left her in a wreck, unable to breathe, shaking, pale, sweating with tears pouring down her cheeks. He hadn't been able to pry from her what triggered it. She couldn't quite speak.

"That's it, breathe," Jack whispered soothingly. " _And when I touch you I feel happy inside—It's such a feeling that my love—I can't hide, I can't hide, I can't hide._ "

Sophie took a deep, shaking breath and held it for two beats before slowly releasing it. Rise, lather, repeat. It didn't last more than ten minutes. She sighed, covering her face with her hands and one of Jack's. Jack understood Sophie did not like having these attacks. What she hated more was depending on someone to bring her down from these. She didn't trust herself alone when she experienced them and rightly so, according to Jamie. He said she shouldn't be left alone when she was having one. Of course, Jack wouldn't have left her alone anyway. Even if she told him to, he'd stay and make sure she was okay.

"God," she groaned. "It's just something so… stupid." Sophie forced out. Now she was ready to talk. Jack lifted his head to listen. "What am I even doing?" Sophie started, pulling herself away from Jack to sit up on his bed. She held herself tightly, staring intently at the poster on the wall across from them. It was a band he knew she had never listen to because when he tried to get her to listen to them, she got bored and tuned it out.

"You're… beating yourself up over something." Jack took a shot. Well, he was sure he was right, no matter how vague it was.

"I'm supposed to be this good artist, right?" Sophie turned to him, her eyebrows raised as if looking for a challenge. "Everyone keeps telling me my art is fantastic. You, Jamie, my teachers, Mom. Everyone that's supposed to encourage me. But, I haven't sold anything in, like,  _months_. Since, like, April. It's fucking August, Jack. The  _end_ of August. I haven't even gotten an online commission. Nothing on my website, Behance, not even freaking deviantArt. Do you know how many people eat up fanart on dA, Jack?"

Jack honestly had no freaking clue what she was talking about. Fanart, internet, what the hell was she going on about? He just stayed silent and let her rant. He didn't think he should stray from the topic too far. Jack kept his expression set, eyes soft, and he listened.

"I've been to, like, ten-ish galleries and had my art up but no takers! What the hell? Did I lose my touch? Do people not like my art anymore? Am I actually  _bad_  at the only thing I'm good at?" Sophie threw her hands up in exasperation. "I suck at life! I'm not good at anything but art crap and I'm failing in that, too! I'm a sucky waitress, I'm a terrible artist, and how am I expecting myself to teach a bunch of brats about this shit I'm actually bad at! I'm going to ruin the next generation, Jack! I want to be an art teacher and I'm going to teach them all the wrong things and I'm going to screw their chances of ever being great because they had a lousy art teacher during elementary or middle school! And fuck you if you think I'm going anywhere near a high school. Those kids are assholes. Actually, all kids are assholes, but maybe slightly less so in elementary school."

Jack couldn't help but smile a bit. She was being silly, but he knew better than to tell her that. She was a fantastic artist and he would have told her if she wasn't. Yeah, in her younger years, she needed some help (okay a lot of it). But she kept at it and practice made  _beautiful_.

"What am I doing with myself?!" She was almost in hysterics again. Jack sat up and wrapped his arms around her, hushing her.

"You're being the best you can be," he said, planting a kiss on her neck. "You're going to mold young minds to be little weirdos like yourself and they will be the best of their generation in everything they do." He kissed her shoulder. "You're going to be a world famous artist and the kids you teach won't even realize it until they grow up and see your stuff in museums because they were ignorant little monkeys." He kissed her cheek. "You're doing what makes you happy, even if it stresses you out enough to make you curse like Jamie."

"I should see that doctor again." she stated rather bluntly. "Get some calm-down pills. Maybe I'll have weird side effects and start hallucinating and I'll make the best painting ever."

"You do that, sweetie," Jack chuckled, kissing her cheek. Of course, neither were serious in any way. He knew if she started hallucinating because of prescription medication, she would freak out and scream and cry. And Jack would not want that to happen to her, not in a million years. He wasn't sure how he would be able to handle the situation and he certainly didn't want to see her hurt in any way, shape, or form. That included possibly harmless hallucinations.

But he wouldn't mind if she actually saw the doctor again. If she went back on her anti-anxiety medication that she had gone off of last month, it might help. He hadn't actually realized she stopped taking it. She finally admitted after the last mild attack she had that she figured she was getting better and just stopped. According to Jamie, that happened often with mental-disorder patients, such as ones with schizophrenia, depression, and bipolar disorders. They think they are starting to get better, so they stop taking it, even when advised not to. Then the symptoms come back and they need to get back on it. Jamie viewed it as a way of saying that the medications works really well.

But Jack didn't care, he just wanted Sophie happy and well and not freaking out every other day. If they meant medication, he would watch her take it on a daily basis if it had to come to that because he didn't want to see her hurt or sad or in a sorry state like she was at that very moment. He was used to seeing her like this and he hated it. He hated that this happened often enough that it was something he could get used to. That he knew the drill in calming her down and he stopped internally panicking after the first ten times it happened. It shouldn't have even happened that many times.

Sophie deserved so much more.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"Stop apologizing." he nuzzled her neck. "It's what I'm here for."

"I told you it was stupid." she grumbled.

"It's not." The fear was far from "stupid." It was completely rational, given the circumstances. "You've had a bad summer for sales. It'll pick up soon. You'll get your spark back. Not like we're running low on money, Soph. With Laura, now we're doing way better than when it was just the three of us. And you have Susan to help with school, which is nothing compared to Jamie's school loans. That kid is gonna be in debt forever."

"Unless he gets a book deal."

"Yeah, I have to talk to him about that." Jack frowned into her shoulder. He had an idea about why the man had sent manuscripts to so many publishers and still had not been picked up. Jamie wasn't going to like Jack's idea, but he supposed it would be for the best. Sophie raised her eyebrows at him questioningly, which he only mimicked. He wasn't going to get her riled up about it as well. Maybe Laura would take his side.

Well, now she was distracted. Good. He guessed it actually wasn't the right thing to do. They should talk about it and he should assure her she's a wonderful artist and that the people around are just stupid for not realizing it and they should beg on their knees just to be able to look at any of it. But she was her own worst critic and she would have brushed him off with a dirty look and if her mood was worse than he measured, she'd probably stomp out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Probably cause that poster of the band she's completely uninterested in to fall off the wall for the bajillionth time and he really needed to duct tape that thing down or something.

"Damn it, Jack," Sophie sighed heavily and rubbed her face. He wasn't quite sure why she was cursing him but maybe it wasn't him that she was cursing rather than her situation. "It's really hot." she settled for saying, because to him, she looked like she really didn't know what to say.

"And I have the coldest room in the house." He smirked. He knew her attacks usually made her sweat bullets and she was always way too hot.

"You also happen to be the coldest person." she chuckled a bit. Even without being Jack Frost, Jack's temperature was still lower than the average. 98.6°F was the norm for, well, most people. But not Jack. 95°F. When Jack went to the hospital for his ribs, that was when they discovered his strange temperature. The doctors were afraid it was because of possible internal bleeding or something like that. Maybe something else as well. But they determined it was actually normal when he went for a follow-up.

"And you're still too hot to cuddle." she grumbled. August was brutal this year, and he supposed the racing heart and rising temperature didn't help the girl any. Jack promised he would be back soon as he got up to fetch her a drink. When he came back with a cup of ice water, Sophie had made herself comfortable which sometimes made Jack extremely  _un_ comfortable. Like now.

When Sophie was comfortable with somebody, she let them know. She would make herself right at home and not really care what the other thought. It took about a year of living together for Sophie to get _this_  comfortable with Jack, but he supposed he shouldn't be as disquieted as he was now, since this wasn't the first time, and it wasn't like he'd seen her in less. The girl had shed her shirt, laid back on his wooden floor with her arms crossed over her eyes.

Jack had seen her in a bathing suit. So logic said a bra and short really wasn't a big deal. And honestly, for a while, that was the logic that he found himself completely okay with. He wasn't sure about what was different, now. He supposed the other week when they went to the beach with Mike, Amy, and the kids something changed. He remembered commenting about how she looked  _really good_  in her new swimsuit to Jamie and Jamie was vehement about not wanting to hear that his sister was sexy. Jack didn't quite use those words, but something about them sort of felt right when describing her.

Sophie had always been uncomfortable with her body. And, if Jack was being objective, he would admit it wasn't the most perfect female body he'd seen. Far from repulsive, but not perfect. She was small, lanky, and thin enough that her ribs protruded. She had no curves at all whatsoever. She often tried to gain weight, probably in the most unhealthy way possible (a ton of junk food over the course of a week or two) but she just had that body type that didn't gain weight. Jamie was the same way and Susan complained that was from their father's side because she certainly didn't have trouble gaining weight, but instead struggled to keep it off.

Sophie would also often complain about her chest. She called it flat (but Jack at the moment would most certainly protest against that because there was definitely something there) and while Jack wouldn't want any part in a conversation about breasts, he would sometimes walk in on them. Laura was more… well endowed, he supposed. Objectively. And Sophie and her would sometimes complain about their bodies respectively. Sophie would say she was too small. Laura would say she was too big. Laura's complaints had actually skyrocketed since she had gotten pregnant and she began to swell. Jack also learned their cup sizes, which he never cared about. Sophie was a B and Laura was a D. He still didn't really care.

Now, subjectively, Jack thought Sophie was the most beautiful girl he ever laid eyes on. She had the softest skin, the brightest eyes, and the way her face lit up when she was happy. He loved the way her dimples formed when she smiled and even while she was thin, she had some roundness to her face. While her teeth weren't perfectly straight or perfectly white, her smile lit up a room. She was a small girl, but her legs seemed so long. She was the perfect height for hugging. The crown of her head reached just under his chin and he could so easily rest it there like he had done a million times. He could thread his fingers through her flaxen hair and press her face against his chest and she didn't have to bend that much. She was the perfect height.

He loved every bit about her. Thought every inch of her was beautiful. He couldn't bring himself to look at anyone else the way he looked at her, whether he wanted to or not. He supposed that came with years of apathy towards humans. He would look at them objectively, determine what was deemed beautiful by the majority and what wasn't, and not quite listen to what the media had to say about it. Because most of the girls in the media were not what the world deemed to be beautiful. Yes, pretty. But most would overlook a model or celebrity in favor of a girl with more meat on her bones, without a tan, and maybe some blemishes here and there. Because real girls were perfect. Manufactured women were fake and undesirable, despite what TV, movies, and every other media outlet would try and tell you.

So Jack would take his lanky, pale, flat-chested girl any day.

Neon green bra with hot pink trimming and all.

"Ah, Soph?"

He wasn't sure why heat was rising to his cheeks. He had seen her in less, he reminded himself. A bra wasn't any different than a bikini top. In fact, most of her undergarments covered more than her bathing suits did. And this wasn't the first time. It didn't bother him before. Nope, not one bit. It caught him off guard the first time she simply pulled off her shirt because she was too hot and their fan broke, but he wasn't fazed in the least.

"The floor is cold." she explained matter-of-factly without moving.

Jack made himself comfortable next to her and set the glass of water near her ear. She glanced to it before she sat up and downed the cup in five seconds. She must have been really thirsty. The girl stretched across him to place the cup on the dresser. His eyes followed the movement, glancing over the smoothness of her skin. He watched her shoulder blades shifting beneath her hair that fell over her back, the tips just barely brushing against her ribs. She hadn't gotten her hair cut in a really long time (Jack was having trouble remembering when exactly she cut it last-damn, the curve of that spine was distracting) and it had grown quite long. Not Rapunzel-long, but still pretty long.

"Thanks," she flashed him that smile and pressed her lips against his in gratitude.

He wanted more. God, he wanted to kiss her long and hard but that would be distasteful following her panic attack and he would not force that on her. Somehow, over the months, he had gotten comfortable with the open mouth kisses and the love marks she would sometimes leave. He enjoyed them, actually.

God, what was wrong with him?

Sophie laid back against the cool floor and reached her arms over her head with a heavy sigh. Jack poked her ribs causing her to squeal and curl inward. She whined when he smirked. He poked her again and again until his fingers were brushing over her ribs and tummy and she laughed loudly, trying to roll away from him. She begged him to stop which only further encouraged him. He pulled her to him, forcing her onto his lap with his arms wrapped around her tightly as he tickled her. She laughed and cursed and called him names, but that wasn't enough to stop him. He knew all of her weak points.

She tried to twist and retaliate. It was hard from her position, which Jack had put her in. But, being all bones and elbows, she had been able to knock him away (a bit painfully, he would admit) to tickle his neck and underarms.

The two of them wrestled for a while, trying to gain dominance in their tickle-war. It ended when Jack was the clear loser with Sophie straddled over his chest, knees pinning his arms to his sides. Her smirk caused him to scowl. Sophie snickered as she leaned down to kiss his lips. They were surprisingly soft. Usually her lower lip was cracked and chapped, but she seemed to have eased up on the abuse for a few days.

He smiled into her lips. He loved how they just molded together perfectly. Sophie pulled back, her green eyes searching his golden brown ones. Jack offered a smile. How could a girl be so absolutely perfect? She rested her elbows by his ears and pressed her lips to his harder. His eyebrows shot up, surprised.

"You sure?" he mumbled into her mouth. She only chuckled, humming an affirmative. Well, if she initiated it…

Sophie lifted her knees one at a time to free Jack's arms. He gripped her hips tightly, lifting himself up to meet her. Her arms wrapped around his neck tightly as he sat up, pulling her closer. He kissed her, licking her lips, tasting her tongue. She pulled his hair, smiling into his mouth, and kissed down his throat. Sophie grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head, pressing flush against him.

She loved contact. Skin on skin and he couldn't blame her. He wanted to be closer, so close they could melt together. But that wasn't possible. So they would settle for this kind of closeness. Jack met her lips with his as he grabbed her backside to lift them onto his bed. It was much more comfortable here. Her legs wrapped around him, pulling him tighter against her.

He kissed down her neck as she scratched at his shoulder blades, breathing picking up speed. He shivered under her fingertips. He nipped her skin and she dug her fingers into him. Then… she giggled.

"Hm?" Jack hummed into her shoulder.

She snorted. "You know, it's okay to bite if you want."

He hesitated. He wasn't like Sophie. He didn't bite or scratch. He was scared of hurting her. He experimented by grazing his teeth across her collarbone. She didn't whimper or whine. She arched to meet him, his hands sliding around her back and up under the band of her bra. His fingers traced her spine making her shiver as he bit down on her soft skin, eliciting a mewl. Huh. That was new.

Hands roamed, lips tangled, newly formed scratches and bite marks cropped up on both bodies. His hand found itself crossing her sternum. His thumb hooked under the center of her bra that raised slightly above her skin. As he slid his hand across her ribs, his thumbnail traced the a curve just above the underwire.

When he realized what he was doing, he stopped and looked to her. She smiled kindly. "No need to be afraid," she said softly as she linked her fingers over his and lead his hand under the wire and over her chest. It took him a second to register what exactly was going on. She chuckled and brushed his hair back.

Pink flushed across her cheeks.  _She_  was embarrassed. She wasn't the one with a palm on this girl's breast. He felt heat pool in his face. She leaned up and kissed his lips. Oh. Great. Straw on the camel's back. If he was being modest about it. He sighed heavily and leaned his head on her shoulder, hand having not moved except to cup the curve. He didn't understand why she wasn't happy with her size, she fit so perfectly into his palm.

"A little stirred up?" Sophie asked. He chuckled nervously. "Yeah, me too."

It wasn't the first time, but it was the first time with Sophie. At least the real Sophie. He had dreams with the two of them in rather compromising positions. A few. First time freaked him out. It was completely embarrassing. And now with Sophie… ugh.

He kissed her lips. "I'm going to take a shower." A nice and cold one. She chortled as he grudgingly pulled himself away from her and grabbed his towel, rushing to the bathroom.

— — —

That shower was perfect. Nice and cold. Great way to calm down. When he finally got out, Jamie was home and complained he wouldn't have enough hot water to shower after work. Jack wouldn't bother assuring him he would have enough. The mirror didn't even fog up.

He settled himself in the living room next to Sophie who had a shirt back on, the fan right next to her, and was playing a video game. There was a strange smirk that crossed her face when he joined her. He couldn't put a reason behind the smirk, but he was sure it was because of what happened earlier. He wasn't sure if she was laughing at him, nervous around him, unsure of how to act around him. But it was natural. Everything was natural. He understood this and she did, too.

But he needed to stop thinking about it. Because he felt heat rise to his cheeks once more and he didn't need another hour long cold shower. He focused on the images on the screen. He asked meaningless questions about the game.

After dinner, Jack sat for another session of recording. His memories were becoming dimmer and dimmer and he felt like there wasn't enough time to record everything. It had only been fifty years. He had forgotten a lot more than he realized after the first run through. It scared him.

When they were done, he settled against the couch, running a hand down his face. He looked to Jamie, glancing past him to Laura who was working in the study. He met Jamie's eyes. "We gotta talk."

Jamie raised his eyebrow. "About?"

"About your career." Jack sighed and leaned his elbows on his knees. "The books. I think you need to start on someone else."

Jamie's eyes widened in shock. It took him a moment to process what Jack was saying. "You mean, Jack Frost shouldn't be the first book in the series."

"Nope."

"But you deserve to be the first book." Jamie stated matter-of-factly.

"Only because of the childhood you had." Jack shrugged. "You and Sophie got the best of me. I wasn't part of that many childhoods. North and Toothiana and Sandy and Bunny… now those guys have touched so many children. That's where all of their belief is. Those are the heros they want to read about. Jack Frost isn't included. Nobody has even heard of Jack Frost. Who wants to read about him?" Jack snorted and shook his head. "Especially with a rather uneventful and depressing history like mine. No kid wants to read about some amnesiac teenager who likes to read and learn different languages and listen to music. Yes, the prankster, they'll be interested in. And while that did take up most of my time, it gets old after the first century.

"No, no. They'll want to read about North. About those amazing adventures and Santoff Clausen and Tooth and Punjam Hy Loo and Bunny's incredible egg obsession and Sandy's island made of stardust. I mean, Sandy's an alien for crying out loud. How awesome is that?! I think you should start on another hero." Jack nodded. "I'm not so interesting. Just a kid from Burgess, Virginia given a second chance."

"Jack," Jamie crossed his arms. "These are my books and my stories and I'm going to write them how I want to."

"I know," Jack held up his hands defensively. "But… I don't think you're going to get published like that. Write about North first. His story is easy and full of adventure."

Jack could hear Laura pause at her place on the computer. She was listening. Of course, he didn't think she would say anything about it. But the tiny frown he could see told him she agreed with Jack.

"I'm…" Jamie sighed and rubbed his temples. "I'm going to have to do a lot of rewriting. I've already finished North's book. Just… guess I should fix it."

"Good," Jack encouraged. "You do that. Better yet, write them in order. Which Guardian came first?"

You know, this was a legitimate question. Jack wasn't sure who was oldest or who became a Guardian first. He supposed he should have listened better when the Guardians were telling their stories.

"Well… it's hard to tell who's older, Sandy or Bunny. Both were around before even MiM. Both come from different worlds." Okay, Jack seriously did not know that about Bunnymund. He knew that about Sandman, but Bunnymund? "But the first to be enlisted was… well, Nightlight. He was the Guardian of the Man in the Moon." Whoah, wait, what?! Who was Nightlight?! Why had Jack never heard of him before?! "But North, Ombric, and Katherine were the first sworn in by MiM. And, I guess Nightlight again. But I can't exactly start with either MiM or Nightlight since I haven't gotten to meet them."

Jack only stared at Jamie. Who was he talking about? Why hadn't the other Guardians told him about Nightlight? Why hadn't Ombric? Then again, why hadn't Ombric told him he was a Guardian? Where was he during the whole Pitch fiasco? Or Nightlight or Katherine for that matter? Maybe Jack should have paid more attention when Jamie was interviewing the Guardians. He could have learned a lot from them. But he always figured he would learn through time or Jamie's books.

Maybe he didn't want spoilers.

But this was history that he was part of. Nobody thought to mention it to him before. Force him to sit down and hear about the other Guardians. He supposed he could forgive Ombric for not telling him about being a Guardian. Jack had complained once about Bunnymund thinking he was so high and mighty because he had believers and he had a holiday and he was a Guardian (winter of '86—nuff said). Perhaps that chortle the old wizard gave was him laughing at Jack's ignorance. Jack did admit he was quite impetuous until he was recruited. He was angry and frustrated because he never received answers.

And Katherine. She was a Guardian? He had never met her. She was Mother Goose. According to Ombric, she traveled a lot and spread stories with her Great Snow Goose, Kailash. She would come back to Santoff Clausen when she could fill a book with all of the stories she made of her adventures and read them to the children.

And he supposed he could have asked. He could have learned more about the Guardians or who this Nightlight guy was. But it was too late to hear it from the Guardians.

"Um… maybe… the… uh… the beginning?" Jack suggested uncertainly.

"I suppose North would be best," Jamie shrugged. "It all kind of starts with him saving Santoff Clausen. Well, it actually kind of starts with MiM and Nightlight, buuuuut who even knows about Nightlight, anyway?"

"Good start." Jack nodded. "Now… uh… Who's Nightlight?"

Jamie almost laughed. He stopped when he realized Jack wasn't going to laugh with him. "You're serious."

Jack nodded. "Never heard of him."

"You don't actually know anything about the history of the Guardians, do you?"

Jack shrugged. "Guess not."

Jamie chuckled and shook his head. "Okay. Then, let's start with MiM…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoah! Longest chapter in this to date! By about 1000 words, too~ xD
> 
> You guys get a lot of fluff in this chapter because someone requested another make-out scene and I delivered because I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff. Also, flustered!Jack because he got to second base. XD Lucky dog. Though, he's not really quite sure what to make of it.
> 
> I don't really think I went too far for a T rated fic. I kind of par it with what you would see in PG-13 movies or on TV. Except for the word "fuck" because that isn't often seen in either. Don't know why it's considered such a bad word, but okay.
> 
> Sorry it took forever to produce, too. God, I skipped writing a chapter of Frostbitten because I'M SO FREAKING STUCK IT HURTS.
> 
> Whelp, enjoy~ Feedback is appreciated and loved!


	36. Chapter 36

As for the history of Guardians of Childhood, I would say read the books. Unfortunately, most people would rather wait for the movie. While, eventually, Jamie Bennett’s debut book series will get published, it won’t make it to the silver screen until several years after his death. In fact, the most unlikely person produces and directs it it. His first born son. Later, you will see why it was so incredibly unlikely that this was the career path his son took (even though any critic will eventually call the man a genius). So, waiting for the movie is unlikely. And, unfortunately, the book series didn’t gain the popularity it deserved.

If I could, I would sum their stories up for you. I would, but it would take a whole chapter of this story. Several chapters, in fact. I could have a chapter for each Guardian and former Guardian. I could have several for Pitch Black alone. But, as you know, this isn’t their story. It is Jack Frost’s. Actually, it isn’t even his anymore. It’s his afterlife. And, since he is no longer a Guardian of Childhood, the other Guardian’s stories would have no effect on this one. So, like Jackson Overland Frost, you’re going to have to read the books. 

But, since he’s lucky and lives with the author he doesn’t have to wait for them to come out. He is able to look over Jamie Bennett’s notes and listen to audio recordings and finally have the whole story (or as much as Jamie Bennett knows because even the Guardians left a few details out). And Jamie Bennett has no patience to explain everything or sum it up, so he just let Jack Frost have at it.

Even if life for him has been rather quiet, he was not one to complain. In all honesty, he had a few lifetimes of adventure and he was fine with finally settling down. He was content with the mundane. But, if you knew magic like Jack did, you would know that magic didn’t always disappear when it was disregarded. In fact, magic clung to the boy in a different way than it did when he was a winter spirit. 

Sometimes, it would nudge Jack to remind him it was there. Simple things, like when his friend’s dragon, Toothless, would fly them without command to a remote location that had so clearly been a dragon’s den. Or Rapunzel’s magical hair or flower would glow when she so much as hummed a certain tune. And Merida, who had clearly been haunted by something in her past (Jack and Jamie speculated it had to do with this “Mor’du” she had mentioned last year, but there was no lore on him that they could find).

Of course, this wasn’t Jack’s magic. This was the magic that clung to his friends. His magic came in the form of frequent Immortal sightings and several visits. Cupid, every now and then when he was in the area. Jack wasn’t sure if he appreciated the visits, in all honestly. Cupid wanted to hear about how his and Sophie’s relationship was going and Jack would rather not share the gory details Cupid so wanted to hear. He had come across a few fairy sightings in their courtyard during the summer, but they decided to cross the veil back into their realm when it started getting colder. They liked to play pranks, but Jack knew their games. He would trick them before they had a chance to trick him. Of course, this only ticked them off more and he had to make sure his window was shut tight and locked to make sure they didn’t get him while he slept. 

Every now and again, when he felt so much like his old self, he would let out a puff of cold air that would cloud before him. A reminder that Jack Frost hadn’t left him completely and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it. Because he still couldn’t make it snow, he still couldn’t form ice, and he still had a warm body. He wasn’t Jack Frost any more and these reminders wore on him. 

It was October now and he hoped this would be the last big reminder of who he was and how powerless he really was. It started while he was at work, and it was the last place he really wanted it to start. It was the start of his involvement, anyway. Merida had inadvertently dragged Hiccup into this. Yes. This was because of Merida and  _her_  place in his story. Because her story was just as important as his, perhaps more-so since lives were actually in danger. 

It happened to be fate that he remembered to bring his cell phone to work that day and it happened to be destiny that it was actually charged for once. He was sure if he didn’t have it on him, Merida and Hiccup could have been killed. Or they would have brought Jamie or Sophie into it, and that was not what he wanted to happen. 

Merida called Jack while he sat in the back with a can of soda, just about to finish up and head back into the play room. His phone sang Frank Sinatra at him and he took a moment to listen to it.  _Fly Me to the Moon_  played and he hummed a few cords before pulling the device from his pocket to look at the caller ID. Merida. It was strange because she rarely actually called him. If she was going to hang out, she would send him a text asking where he was and just show up whenever. 

He was wondering why she was calling at noon on a Friday when he remembered she was on a long weekend camping trip with Hiccup. Since she had learned of his proficiency while outdoors, she finally had a partner to camp with. She was so excited. They went away often, sometimes with their friends, sometimes with just each other. 

He picked up. “Hello?”

“Jack!” she breathed a sigh of relief. He could hear the panic in her voice. His brow creased with worry. “I did something incredibly stupid.”

“You didn’t—”

“Last week.”

God damn it. “Merida—!”

“We don’t have time for this! Jack, we need you to call Stoick and bring Toothless to us.” Merida explained. 

Jack could hear Hiccup demand the phone and there was static transfer and he was now speaking with the boy. “Listen. Dad has Toothless in the shed. He just kind of hangs out there when we don’t bring him with us. Call Dad at this number—” Jack fumbled for the notepad on a table and wrote down a number and the name of the camping grounds they were at. “I’d give you coordinates, but we have to keep moving. Just call when you get here and we’ll give you a landmark. Hurry, Jack!”

“Hiccup, what’s going on?”

“Well, I was face-to-face with the bear that took Fergus’s leg, to put it simply. We’ll explain later. Shit, come on, Merida!” There was a dial tone.

The bear? But.. that couldn’t be possible. That was years ago. In Scotland. How did the bear get to Virginia? He didn’t have time to think about this. He quickly dialed for Stoick, wondering why Hiccup just didn’t take Toothless with him in the first place. And what was so terrifying about a bear? Merida had her bow with her. That was pretty lethal. And Hiccup was pretty handy with a knife. Yeah, it would be reckless, but a dragon might over-do it if it was just a bear. Unless… it wasn’t just any ordinary bear.

Mor’du?

Jack didn’t have time to explain anything to Stoick, especially since he had no idea what was going on himself. He assured him everything was fine, but just asked to send Toothless to the daycare. It took some convincing because, really? A dragon at the daycare? Bad idea. Jack knew it. But Stoick promised to let Toothless out and he would be there shortly.

Jack ran his hands down his face stressfully. Now his only obstacle was  Pam. Lisa had the day off, which meant Pam was in charge. Pam wasn’t as fond of Jack as Lisa was. Not that she didn’t like the kid. He was good with the children. Just she ruled with an iron fist.

He begged, he pleaded, he said that it was an emergency. He needed to go. He wished he could explain what was wrong and why he needed to leave, but how would you explain your friends getting attacked by bears? Outside, while the children played, all dressed warmly for the brisk autumn air, he argued with Pam.

They were short staffed at the moment. The triplets were reeking havoc and Jack was here, fighting to be let go for the day. Whatever it was could wait the two hours for him to be let off. But it couldn’t. 

“When do I ever ask to go home early?!” Jack was exasperated. He liked Rose, he did. When she wasn’t up on her high horse.

“I can’t do it today, Jack.” Pam shook her head. 

“I can tell them to behave.” Jack assured her. “They’ll listen to me.”

A particularly strong gust of wind blew at them, causing Jack to shiver a bit. Oh, great. His ride was here. In the sandbox. Some children screamed and ran back, yelling “dragon!” and “it’s going to eat us!” The DunBroch triplets ran up to Toothless fearlessly and the dragon playfully bat at them. He wondered if Pam thought it was a rather dramatic game of pretend, though the fear the children portrayed was legitimate. 

Jack looked to Pam, expression set. “I’m going to talk to the triplets and I’m going to go. My ride is here.”

Jack opened his arms wide as he walked up to the dragon. He scratched Toothless under the chin with a wide grin. “Hey, there Toothless. You picked a hell of a spot to land, you know that, right?”

He turned to the kids who were trying to explain to the others that there was actually a dragon in the sandbox. He grinned playfully. “Guys, there’s nothing to be afraid of! Your brave knight will fend him off!” He turned, picking up a plastic sword and swung it artfully. “Back! Back you, cur! Go across the street and we will battle there!” Toothless only gave him an incredulously look. Jack poked his snout with the plastic sword repeatedly. “Toothless. Go across the street, please. I’ll be there soon.”

Toothless rolled his eyes and flew off. Jack turned with his fists on his hips and grinned triumphantly. “The dragon will be slain! And you all will have cookies on Monday!” The handful of children that were able to see Toothless cheered as well as the ones that pretended there was a dragon there. Jack turned and crouched near the triplets.

“Hey, guys, I need you to be good, okay?” They looked between each other and up to Jack. “Your sister is in a pinch and I’ve gotta get her out of it.” He wasn’t sure if he wanted to worry them with questions about Mor’du or a bear. It seemed they realized something big was happening. Jack’s forcibly calm demeanor wasn’t fooling them. Toothless’s presence wasn’t helping either. “So, please be nice to Pam and the children.” They hesitantly nodded in agreement. 

Jack ruffled the hair on their heads before bolting past Pam, yelling an apology and rushed across the street to meet Toothless who was resting on a streetlamp. He beckoned for the dragon to follow him into the alley before climbing onto the saddle and instructing Toothless where to go. He seemed to understand the location better than Jack did because he shot straight into the sky. 

As they flew, Jack explained to Toothless what they could possibly be up against. Mor’du. An Immortal bear (possibly, if he connected the dots correctly). And it was after Merida and Hiccup. Actually, it’s goal was probably Merida. Because she was an idiot and played that flute and she was going to get such a talking-to when they were safe. 

They were landed on a treetop in the campground. Jack pulled out his phone and fumbled to call Merida. He still couldn’t get used to the whole calling thing and texting was worse. The first time, Merida didn’t pick up. Jack’s heart began to race and he thought the worst. It took him calling two more times for her to finally answer, out of breath and in harsh whispers.

“Jack! You’re here?”

“Yeah, where are you?” Jack looked around, maybe hoping they were on top of a tree where he could easily pick them up. 

“There’s a pile of boulders.” Merida explained. “Remember during the summer when we went hiking and climbed them? Sophie twisted her ankle there?” Jack made a noise of affirmation. “We’re there.”

“Right. Stay on, I’m coming.” Jack instructed Toothless to fly. They flew high enough to look around, circling the forest until they spotted the familiar pile of boulders. When they landed on the peek, they twisted around to look for their friends. Jack let Merida know they were there. 

Then, a mane of red hair popped up from a crevice. It looked incredibly dangerous to be hiding in there, the rocks precariously perched on the edge, ready to fall at any time. Merida smiled with relief and climbed out, offering a hand to Hiccup as he followed. 

Merida. Oh, god. There were three deep claw marks that trailed from her shoulder to her spine. She looked as if she traveled through a creek, drenched below the waist. She could have possibly tried to wash out her wound that continued to bleed freely. Her fare skill growing ever paler.

Hiccup helped support her as they climbed up the pile of rocks. Jack slid off of Toothless, rushing to meet them. The boys practically carried the girl to the dragon, setting her on the saddle. She slumped forward, panting.

“Jack, take her to the hospital.” Hiccup instructed.

“W-What?” Jack sputtered. 

“I’m going to pack up the camp site and take my truck back home.” Hiccup explained, brushing hair from Merida’s face. He was drenched in sweat and water. Dirt and grime coated his face and a cobweb was trapped in his auburn hair. His clothes were torn from running through a thicket, twigs still clinging to bits of his clothes.

“Won’t the bear, uh, try and kill you?”

“It’s after my family,” Merida said. “Nobody else. We passed some hunters and it completely disregarded them. He’ll be safe…”

Jack wasn’t buying it. He looked down to the ground just as he heard the roar of an incredible beast. Oh.  _That_  was the bear?!  _That_  was Mor’du?! A bear that was at least four times the size of a normal black bear with scars dug deep into it’s body. Arrows and shotgun holes riddled his body. It seemed a few arrows were freshly shot into his already scarred left eye since blood was trickling down its face. 

“Alright, everyone on the dragon.” Jack ordered, shoving Hiccup into the hide. Hiccup had no qualms about climbing aboard, Jack scrambling to follow him. As soon as Jack was on, Toothless took to the skies and shot a plasma blast the bear. The animal roared, climbing the boulders to try and reach them. Hiccup turned Toothless away, steering him away from the bear and out of the forest. 

Once they were clear, Hiccup sighed, rubbing the uninjured part of Merida’s back. “You’re going to be okay, Merida.”

“‘M such an idiot.” she mumbled. 

“Yeah, you are,” Hiccup agreed. “But that’s okay. I am, too, remember?”

Merida snorted. “True. Goin’ up against Thor.”

“Right. And you fought really well.” Hiccup grinned. “I’ve never seen anyone so brave before.”

Merida snorted. She leaned back against Hiccup, content. He didn’t seem to care that she was bleeding all over him. He brushed sweat-slicked hair from her face, telling her not to close her eyes no matter how tired she was. The boy instructed Toothless to land by his truck in the parking lot.

“Don’t go get our stuff.” Merida mumbled.

“I won’t.” Hiccup promised her. “I’ll meet you guys at the hospital.”

Merida shook her head. “Princess.”

“Punzel?” Hiccup clarified. She nodded. “Alright, I’ll meet you there.”

“Why aren’t you coming with us?” Jack asked.

“I’m going to let the park rangers know there’s a bear. I know it won’t do much, but… I figured they could clear everyone out for good measure.” Hiccup explained as he slid off the dragon. “Take care of her, Jack.”

“I will,” he promised. Merida didn’t look steady, sitting up front. Jack switched places with her and ordered her to hold on to him before they took flight. Merida’s usually strong arms felt weak against him. He prayed she wouldn’t bleed out before they got to Rapunzel’s. He asked her to call the other so he didn’t just show up at her door with a half-dead archer. 

Merida fumbled with her phone. Jack glanced back, seeing her struggle with the touch-pad that was slicked with blood. He took the phone from her and pocketed it, assuring her she was going to be okay. She just needed to hold on a little longer. Jack pulled out his phone, careful to hand on to the saddle tighter as she dialed.

It took a moment for her to answer. “Jack?”

“Rapunzel. Where are you?”

“Home, getting ready to head to class.” she replied.

“Don’t move.” he told her firmly. “I’m coming to you.”

“Jack? What’s going on?” Rapunzel seemed to have picked up on the panic in his voice.

“Merida’s hurt pretty bad.” he glanced back to the red-head. 

Rapunzel made a noise of confirmation. “Okay.”

Jack was silent for a moment. Would Rapunzel be okay seeing Merida in this state? She had handled small injuries. Not so much blood. Internal injuries. Nothing like this. He wanted to say something to prepare her. “Listen, Rapunzel. It’s  _really_  bad.”

The other end was quiet. Did she hang up? Did he lose her? Then, “I understand. I’ll be waiting. My parents are at work, so… you can just come in if I’m not outside.”

Jack thanked her and promised an explanation when they got there. It was twenty grueling minutes of trying to keep Merida awake and keep her talking because he didn’t know what else to do. Keeping her talking was the only way he knew she was awake, since she was behind him. He had to catch her and adjust her a few times as she slipped on the saddle.

She berated herself for her own foolishness. She should have listened to the witch when she said she escaped her fate. Her fate was to get mauled by an Immortal bear, Mor’du. It hadn’t been able to cross the pond like she was. She didn’t know what the bear wanted with her or her family, but she knew they were targets. When she played the flute, it seemed she had summoned it. 

She admitted Mor’du was what she had been keeping from them. She wanted to put that part of the past behind her. She had told Hiccup and made him swear not to tell anyone else. 

She groaned. “I dragged Hiccup into this.” her fingers twisted into Jack’s sweatshirt agonizingly. “I could have kill him.”

“He’s in way better shape than you, Merida. I think he’ll be just fine.” Jack assured her.

“But it’s my fault! I brought him here! I got Hiccup involved.” Merida pressed, her voice strained and thick with emotion. “If he got hurt because of what I did, I don’t… I don’t think I’d…”

Jack tenderly glanced back to her. “Merida.” he said just loud enough for her to hear him over the whistling winds. “He didn’t get hurt. If you think about what could have happened, you’ll just stress yourself out. Focus on what did happen and what you’re going to do now.”

She pressed herself against his back. “We might have to move again…”

Jack didn’t know what to say to that. Move? Merdia? No, he didn’t want that. He wanted her to stay right where she was because they were friends and he considered her family, despite their differences and he wasn’t going to let her move. He would do what he could to keep her and her family safe.

“We’re here.” Jack announced as they descended, landing in Rapunzel’s back yard. He got off of Toothless and helped Merida off. She stumbled and her knees buckled and he caught her. She couldn’t walk. She was too weak. Jack lifted her up on his back, hefting to lift her weight.

“Oof! You’re heavy,” Jack teased.

“Shaddap, Toothpick.”

Jack brought her inside through the back door and called for Rapunzel. It didn’t take more than a few seconds to hear the scrambling and ruckus the blonde made as she rushed into the kitchen. She frozen for a fraction of a second before beckoning them to follow her. Jack carried Merida into the bathroom, doing as Rapunzel instructed and set her in the bathtub. Rapunzel turned on the shower, pulling away fabric and flinching. Rapunzel helped her out of her jacket and pushed aside the tattered fabric of her shirt.

“You okay, Punzel?” Jack asked, finally getting a good look at the claw marks. They were gruesome, to the bone, ripped through flesh and muscle deep. Leaves, dirt, and bugs had seemed to have gotten trapped in the blood and other body fluids that leaked from the wound.

Rapunzel swallowed hard, as if forcing down bile and nodded. She cleaned out the wound before taking her hair to the still bleeding wound to heal Merida.

“ _Flower gleam and glow…_ “ 

Jack knelt next to Merida and lifted her face. In the golden glow, she already began to look better. She scowled at him. He smirked, sticking out his tongue.

“ _Bring back what once was mine. What once was mine._ ”

Rapunzel pulled away and Merida rolled her shoulder, testing how well it healed. Not even a scar or a scratch. As if the wound was never there. Rapunzel’s power sure was amazing. Sometimes, Jack had trouble believing this power was real. 

Merida had her color back. She offered a tiny smile to Rapunzel. “Thanks, Princess.” Rapunzel threw herself at Merida, hugging her tightly under the shower of warm water. Merida rolled her eyes and held her back, rubbing her shoulders. “I’m okay, Princess. Just a flesh wound.”

“What happened?!”

Merida rubbed her forehead. Then, she said reluctantly, “I changed me fate.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did a cop-out for not summing up the Guardians of Childhood books. Sue me. Don't worry, you'll see a little of those characters later with just an explanation that's need-to-know.
> 
> Yay~ Merida's story is coming to fruition. Rapunzel's will be during the summer. Now, uh, not sure how I'm gonna get rid of Mor'du. Don't worry, I'll figure something out! No, Mama DunBroch isn't gonna turn into a bear. But Merida's mommy problems will be solved, promise!


	37. Chapter 37

By the time Hiccup got to Rapunzel's house, the girls had gotten cleaned up. Blood stained clothing (including Jack's sweatshirt that he was horribly reluctant to give up) were stuffed into trash bags and thrown into the outside trash, hidden from sight. What Rapunzel's parents didn't know wouldn't hurt them. Merida now donned Rapunzel's clothing, but to her disdain. Merida was fine with the white sweatpants offered (since she would never fit into Rapunzel's jeans with her wider hips) but the simple, yet bead-embellished tee shirt was not quite her taste. Nor was the, name-brand pink sweatshirt offered. It was too… girly, she complained. It looked so weird on Merida. Jack was holding back snickers. She promptly punched him rather hard in the back.

When Jack was offered a new shirt to wear, he politely declined. He wore a black shirt that day, luckily, and simply rinsed it out. Yeah, there was still a stain. It wasn't horribly noticeable, was it? Either way, he wasn't going to wear Rapunzel's clothing. Or her father's much larger clothing.

When Hiccup was let in, he made a bee-line for Merida. He checked her shoulder and held her face and asked a million questions. Was she alright? Dizzy? Maybe she should sit down. Merida snorted, promising she was going to live because of Rapunzel. Hiccup thanked the blonde who replied by asking if he was injured. Just a few bumped and scraps. Merida let Hiccup make a fuss over her until Toothless made himself known. In the spacious entrance hall, he struggled not to knock over things to get to Hiccup. Toothless wanted to see for himself that his best friend was safe.

When all had settled down, they moved to the living room where the three of them turned to Merida, looking for answers. Merida knew it was time to finally tell them. She was reluctant, Jack understood, to bring up such a horrifying part of her past. She explained her and her mother had gotten into it the previous week. It was bad. But it was the same argument they've had several time. Elinor wanted Merida to go to a elite school for business (Brown, MIT, Stanford, ect.) to learn the proper trade. So she could take over the business. Of course, Merida did go to school for business. Just not to where Elinor wanted her to go. Rather, she attended the local university with Hiccup.

She was tired of it. She just wanted to stay in the school she was content with along with one of her best friends that her mother didn't seem to wholly aprove of for some reason. She asked for something to change her fate and her mother. So, in her anger and frustration, she played the flute.

Nothing happened. Nothing changed. after a few days, she came to the conclusion the magic might have worn off or it never worked in the first place or maybe she just played it wrong. Either way, after a few days she figured nothing happen. But that very day, when they got to the campsite… Merida felt something was wrong. She didn't say anything. Her and Hiccup set up camp and went for a hike. Of course she brought her bow and arrow for target practice (her targets were still hung throughout the forest and trails). After walking for about an hour, that was when they heard it. The great roar of a mighty bear. Of course, that could be possible. The forest was cleared out specifically for camping. There weren't any dangerous animals, the rangers made sure of that during the open seasons. During winter, they left it. Spring, before they opened, they would go through the forest and clear out any bears (tranq and animal control—they were moved safely and harmlessly).

So, of course it came as a surprise for Hiccup. But it was Merida's horror. Merida instantly recognized the haunting roar of Mor'du. He was a bear that roamed their area of Scotland for centuries. The legend was that he used to be a prince. He was vicious and cruel and wanted nothing more than to become king. but he was the second born out of his four brothers. His wife had heard him conspiring to kill his brother and went to a witch for help, asking for help to make sure her husband would not become king in such a way. She was given a cake to feed him and when he ate it, he became a bear. This was not what the princess had intended. In his fit of rage and confusion, he tried to kill her. His younger brother stepped in and saved her by luring the bear deep into the forest. Attempts to slay the beast we futile. He remained strong, alive, and furious with his wife for what she had done to him.

Merida wasn't quite sure about the last part. That was part of the legend, but she was certain he had lost himself through the years and was nothing more than a steroid-fueled beast. Now, this animal, whenever it caught the scent of the DunBroch family, seemed to go after them. Their first encounter with this beast they thought was nothing but a legend was when Merida was three. She had wandered just a little ways away from her family while they were out at the park and found herself in the surrounding forest. That was when he attacked. That attack took Fergus's leg. Merida could hardly remember it. She was much too young. The family took it as a freak bear attack, not quite realizing it was Mor'du at the time.

Then it attacked again when she was four. And again when she was seven. When she was ten. Thirteen—twice in three months. Finally, the last was at sixteen and her family decided it was time to move across the ocean to escape it. Spending summers in Ireland and going to boarding school in England did not do much to keep the bear away. It would find them. One, he even found them while they were in Glasgow.

And now Merida summoned it to America.

When Merida finished her story, she had finished her mug of tea that Rapunzel offered. Hiccup sat with his arms crossed, a worried frown on his face. Jack noticed the boy seemed to be waiting for something. Merida had already told Hiccup all of this. When? And why him? Yet, Jack wasn't surprised that if she shared it with anyone, she shared it with this engineer-slash-dragon trainer.

Rapunzel went to get another mug of tea for Merida when the doorbell rang. Hiccup offered to get it. When he stood up to answer the door, Jack rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"I think I know what you're dealing with here," he said. "I mean, if the legends are true."

"One of your kind?" Merida offered.

Jack shook his head. "No, it's not a Legend Immortal. It's a cursed man. Other campers saw him, right? And your family didn't believe in him when you first saw him, right? I mean, I'm sure when you were four you haven't heard of this legend. So, you're dealing with a man."

Merida blinked, not quiet understanding him. "A… man. Jack, I'm pretty certain it's a bear."

"Well, he used to me human, right? He was cursed." Jack explained, looking up. He stopped. A tall woman stood behind the couch Merida made herself comfortable on. Hiccup shifted uneasily behind her, looking anywhere but at Merida or Jack.

Merida noticed Jack's gaze and followed it. She stood up hastily, stumbling back. "Mum?! What are you doing here?"

"Your friend Harald called me and told me what happened. Are you alright? I rushed over as soon as I got the call." Elinor was not like Jack had ever seen her. She rushed around the couch to hold Merida's face, searching for any hint of an injury.

"Mum, I'm fine!" Merida pulled away from her, rounding on Hiccup. "You  _called_  her?!"

"I called your house and the office." Hiccup explained, if only a little hesitantly. "I figured they should know what's going on. I mean, it  _does_  involve all of your family. I… I dunno, I wanted them to be prepared. Mrs. DunBroch was the one that answered."

"I appreciate your concern, Harald." Elinor said sincerely. "Come on, Merida, we're going home."

"No,  _Mum_!" Merida pulled away before Elinor could grab for her. "I want to end this one and for all! I know where he is and I want to stop this for good! We're not running anymore!"

"And what are you going to do, Merida? We've tried everything." Elinor urged.

Merida rolled her eyes, pacing herself away from Elinor, towards Hiccup. She glared at him. "What did you call her for? We could have handled this."

"Because what if we tried?" Hiccup crossed his arms. "What if we tried and you ended up worse?" He pinched his nose. "I called her before I got here. I called her when I was terrified that Jack didn't get you to Rapunzel on time. I called her when I was scared it was too late for her to save you."

"Merida, what is he talking about?" Elinor asked.

At that moment, Rapunzel entered the room. She looked between Merida and Elinor, both fuming and stubborn. The blonde pressed her lips together and held out the mug meant for Merida. "Tea, Mrs. DunBroch?"

"No thank you, dear, we're just leaving."

Merida made a noise of frustration. She wrenched herself away from Elinor, scrambling to stand behind Jack's chair. The red-head glared at Hiccup who only scowled back, his lips pressed tight.

"Merida, stop acting like a child!"

"No, Mum!" Merida clutched the back of the chair. "It's time to be brave! Jack knows what we're up against. He can tell us how to beat him! We can finally live without worrying about the next Mor'du attack."

"What would he know?" Elinor gave a vague gesture of exasperation. "And why would you tell them?"

Merida snorted. "You think we're the only ones that deal with this stuff?" Merida laughed humorlessly. "You think the world is so tiny. Mum, what you don't know… what you'll never see could fill tomes. And we've only just touched the surface. Dragons and magic flowers and winter spirits… Mum, we need help. Jack can help us."

Jack rubbed his temples. He had been in the middle of mother-daughter fights. Susan and Sophie had a few, yes. But never quite to the extent of Elinor and Merida. Both were thick-headed and thought their way was the only way. And here was was, dragged into this. He didn't want to come between them.

"What you're up against is just a man who's been cursed." Jack said loudly. That quieted any raise in voices. He didn't look at either of them. "It explains why you guys could see him and why those campers could. He's not magical on his own. The best way to get him off your back is to break the curse."

"Don't tell me true love's kiss." Merida snorted.

"No." Jack replied, unamused. "Curses never have anything to do with love. Actually, sometimes they require sacrifice of innocence to break them. You know, like blood of a child and the like." Jack winced. He never liked the idea of having to deal with a curse. He hoped he never would have had to deal with one. Curses were dark magic, nothing like the magic he was used to handling. "The best way to find out how to break this curse is to talk to a witch or wizard. I'm no expert at magic."

"You're speaking non-sense." Elinor frowned.

"You have a bear that magically never dies, even when your husband and daughter shot it with guns and arrows, and was transported across an ocean via a magic flute." Jack said flatly. "But you can't believe that there's such thing as witches and wizards or curses?"

"It's just—it's—"

Jack spoke over her. "I know two who we can go to." he lowered his voice when he was certain nobody was going to interrupt him. "A wizard called Ombric in Siberia. And…" Jack raised his eyebrow at Merida. "Auntie Julie. Who is much closer, though in the same forest as a crazed bear. I'm thinking you and your mom go home. Hiccup and I can go ask her, since it's not after us. It's after you guys."

"No," Merida rounded the couch, turning her glare to Jack. "No, you and me are going. Hiccup stays out of this. I'd say you, too, Frosty, but I need your information. This is your realm and I need in."

Jack couldn't help but chortle, rubbing the back of his head. "And you know, just a year ago, I thought being human was going to be beautifully boring." He stood up. "You three just keep dragging me in, don't you?" He grinned playfully at Hiccup, Merida, and Rapunzel. Rapunzel giggled. "What are you laughing about, Princess? Next, I'm going to be saving you from a tower."

Hiccup was clearly trying not to smile. He was too mad to smile. The fact Merida wanted to keep him out of this was not okay with him. Jack understood.

"So," Jack turned to Merida. "Hawkeye, we have one of two choices. Hiccup and I go see Auntie Julie. Or, you can try and convince Hiccup to let us borrow Toothless to fly to Russia. Good luck. I've got to call Jamie and/or Sophie about this so they don't freak out."

"Jack, we can just drive—"

"I'm not going anywhere near that forest with you." Jack said with finality. "You're my friend and we're not trekking through that place what with a bear that wants to kill you. No, that might be considered murder, right? You two—" Jack motioned between Merida and Hiccup, then made eye contact with Elinor. "—three," he corrected himself, "deck it out. Punzel, let's leave them to it."

Jack linked arms with Rapunzel, walking with her to the kitchen. She still held a mug of tea in her hands. Her expression was pensive as the two of them sat at the bar. Jack pulled out his phone and dialed Jamie first. He didn't pick up. Sophie didn't either, but she called back after just a few minutes.

"Jack, I'm in class." she said with a hint of urgency. "Don't tell me about the triplets' prank right now."

"Hi, Sophie!" Rapunzel chimed in when Jack handed the phone to her, asking her to put it on speaker phone. The blonde set the phone on the marble. "Sorry I missed class."

"… Oh god, who's dying?"

The two raised eyebrows at each other. Of course that would be the first assumption the girl made. And somehow, Jack and Rapunzel lost the heart to tell her what was going on. Jack summoned the courage and explained to her what happened and where he was going. Voices were raising in the next room. Jack was beginning to regret leaving them to their own devices.

This wasn't how he planned his new life going. But even before the whole Thor incident, Jack promised to protect his friends. He just hoped this time there would be no lost limbs and no angry gods. Hopefully, breaking this curse would not involve a heavy sacrifice.

When he finished telling Sophie what was happening, the fighting in the next room became dangerously quiet. Rapunzel and Jack looked over their shoulders, uncertain of what was happening. Sophie hummed thoughtfully.

"Well… you guys know me. I'm a lazy procrastinator," she said, her voice shaking. It was clear she was scared and trying to act brave. "But… from the sound of it, it looks like you have a lot of time before Mor'du comes back for Merida."

"Yeah, but," Jack frowned. Oh, god, she was right. There really wasn't any urgency. Of course, that didn't mean they could put it behind them and call it a day. But that didn't mean they had to find a solution _right now_. They could think all this over. Come up with a plan. Strategize. "But… Aunt Julie. What she said still bothers me. She said Merida already escaped her fate. What the hell does that mean? Is Merida really fated to get mauled by this thing? Sophie… I don't…"

"I know, Jack," Sophie assured him. "I don't want her to get hurt either. You know I love her. And I love you and Hiccup. And you, too, Rapunzel." she added. "But I don't think this is an immediate concern. We can plan this all out and do this properly. You didn't have to be an ass and set the wolves on each other. You all are in a panic, I get it. But… go in there. Calm them all down. Remind them there's time. If Aunt Julie moved bases in that time, you know there's always your wizard friend in Siberia that can help."

Jack rubbed his forehead and smiled. "You know, for a girl that always go to Jamie for help or advice, you do have your brilliant moments, Sophie."

She paused a beat. "I think my psychology class is working."

"Since when did you become the voice of reason?" Rapunzel asked with a smirk.

"Since Jack sometimes needs telling what an ass he's being." Sophie stated smoothly. "Go clean up your mess, jerkface."

"You're so nice." Jack chuckled.

"Besides, if you guys want to do it the easy way, couldn't you take Toothless and…—? You know what forget I said anything because it's a bad idea and just ignore me. My moment of clarity is gone. HEY! You know what's a good idea? Bringing everyone over for dinner! On your way home, pick up some more pork chops, will you? Laura was going to make some tonight and you know how good they are! Heck, invite Mrs. DunBroch, too! Invite the DunBroch clan! We can all talk this over during a nice meal. And Jamie might have some good ideas! I'll see you here, right, Punzel?"

"Of course!"

"Good. Bye! Oh, and Jack?" He stopped to listen to her. "I don't think Cupid would like that you threw a wrench in the gears, if you know what I mean. Wait. I don't even know what I mean. Bad metaphor."

"I'm sure he's dealt with worse than a spat." Jack snorted. "And why are you even bringing this up? This is the least of our worries. The DunBrochs have a bear after them and you're thinking of Cupid's games. We'll talk about it later. Get back to class."

"Well, class is already over, jerk." She sighed. "I missed most of it thanks to you." Her voice became faint. "Oh, hey Adrian. … Jack and Rapunzel. … Pfft! That's funny." She came back to them. "Guys, I gotta go. Make sure they come over, alright? Don't forget the pork chops!" She hung up.

Rapunzel furrowed her brows. "Cupid?"

"I'll explain later." Jack waved it off as he pocketed his phone.

The two apprehensively entered the living room. There was glares all around and Jack realized just how bad an idea it was to let them fight. But, he supposed they all let out their steam. So, maybe they would listen to reason (Sophie's reason).

Hiccup sat on the back of a chair, back turned to the room as he stroked Toothless's snout. He neverminded that Elinor would not be able to see the dragon. Jack could see how rigid he was. He had it. The dragon trainer had left the argument first.

Merida and Elinor were glaring at each other. Merida turned to Jack; if looks could kill, Jack would be a pile of ashes.

"So, um, Sophie invited everyone to diner." Jack said uncertainly, not exactly knowing where to start. He felt as if all the urgency had left him after talking with the girl.

"More like demanded." Rapunzel added helpfully.

"Of course you'd bring Sophie into this," Merida huffed.

"Jamie didn't pick up." Jack shot back. "And, if you forgot, they're actually normal, unlike us. Perspective, Merida."

"Fine, whatever. But we don't have time for 'dinner.' We have to—"

"We have a ton of time." Jack reminded her. "You said so yourself. Mor'du attacks every couple of years, so… why don't we take some time and figure this out the smart way."

"But—" Elinor tried to interject.

"I want your family to be safe," Jack promised her. "We need to think of the best way to do that."

And that was how they all landed in a tiny apartment, eating with mismatched plates and silverware at whatever surface was available. The triplets were left with a babysitter and Fergus was possibly the most confused out of everyone there. Hiccup was angry with Merida and Merida was just angry. Jamie seemed amused at the whole situation and Sophie sat, rubbing her temples, and telling herself that it was okay to be in a crowd. She needed to calm down.

But, it was during this dinner that everyone came to understand the situation from every angle. Each person having a chance to tell their side of the story. Each given a chance to offer their services to a family in danger. When Jack offered a few solutions, Fergus and Elinor became very skeptical. They didn't believe him when he said he had been around for a long time and knew what hew as talking about. They couldn't believe that Mor'du was just a cursed man. Jack cursed the dumb adult logic that clouded them from really seeing the truth. Even with so much proof before them, they had trouble believing anything.

But, at the end of the night, they had come up with a plan. They could put it into effect, even if Fergus and Elinor didn't agree to it completely. It seemed crazy, it seemed illogical, and how could it possible ever work?

And, by the end of the night, Merida and Hiccup were back on good terms.


	38. Chapter 38

“Are you sure you want to go to Auntie Julie’s and not to your friend Ombric’s?” Merida asked.

The three of them sat in the truck two days later. Hiccup and Jack had gotten off from work and Merida was skipping class. They were not even ten minutes away from the familiar forest. They were going back with the excuse that they had left their supplies, tent, and bags behind. That was their excuse if they came across any rangers. 

“It’s alright,” Jack scratched his ear. “I mean, if Auntie Julie’s cabin can do that to me, imagine what a town built on stardust would do?”

“Um… kill you if you inhale?” Hiccup offered.

Jack laughed. “Stardust is magic, Hiccup. I know it’s a little hard for your scientific brain to wrap around, but it’s true.”

Merida was stubborn. She was going through the forest, even if it killed her. And, really, according to her, the chances were actually pretty slim. Mor’du used to have a specific haunt. Merida used to travel through all the time and had only been attacked there twice. There was a good chance they wouldn’t come across him.

They parked and Toothless jumped out of the truck with them. Just because they were certain Mor’du wouldn’t attack didn’t mean they wouldn’t bring a get-away dragon in the event they needed to run. And, somehow, Rapunzel brought up the idea that Toothless might be able to fight off Mor’du, since he was just a bear. Sophie groaned, saying that was her idea before, but it was an awful one which was why she didn’t say anything. But, it wouldn’t hurt to try, right? White-hot plasma blasts. A thick hide. Toothless would stand a pretty good chance against Mor’du.

The three rode Toothless to the cabin. Jack felt increasingly apprehensive. The last time he was in the cabin, he was rendered pretty useless. It would hurt to feel how many believers he would have. He was sure only four of them were actual children. And while a couple of adults believed who he was, he wouldn’t actually get any power from them. It was the children’s sense of wonder, not the adult’s clarity that any of the Guardians gained power. Pure belief that seeing wasn’t always believing. The belief in magic and that something so wonderful actually existed. It was the same reasoning why the belief from the children of Santoff Clausen had no effect on him. They had clear eyes. 

So. Power from four children. Wonderful. Maybe they could get Auntie Julie to come outside. 

Merida slid off of Toothless and followed the path to the door. There were a few more statues. Four of them were a mother bear and three cubs that inexplicably reminded Jack of Harris, Hamish, and Hubert. Hiccup curiously glanced over all of the wood carvings, having never been to visit the witch. 

Merida knocked on the door. It flew open.

“Come in, come in! Customers?” the voice of an old woman welcomed them. Merida and Hiccup strode in easily. Jack stood at the threshold, frowning. He really didn’t want to step in there. He could feel even more powerful magic working in the cabin than there was before 

“Oh! It’s you,” Auntie Julie happily rounded a table to shake Merida’s hand with both of hers. “Come back for a wood carving? They always do!”

“No, I—”

“Dear, come in, it’s chilly.” Jack cried out as he was pulled in by the front of his sweatshirt by an invisible force, the door slamming shut behind him. A chill washed over him instantly. “Oh, Jack Frost! I didn’t even recognize you, what with being human and such. Sit, sit! Did you come for a purchase, too? Perhaps a new staff? You seem to have lost yours.”

“No, thank you. We just came to ask some questions.” Jack happily took her offer to sit as he felt his legs about to give out. There was a pair of eyes on him and he turned to Hiccup with a raised eyebrow. Green eyes were wide, his jaw had become slack. “Oh, good, you can really see me, too, then. I wasn’t sure if you were just saying you could or not.”

“You look so weird.” Hiccup commented. Huh. He always thought his brown hair and golden brown eyes were weird. It was the first time he heard anyone say that Jack Frost was the one that looked weird. Well, he supposed it depended on how long someone knew him. 

“You’re a real looker yourself, champ.” Jack snorted, turning back to Auntie Julie. “We’re  _really_  glad you haven’t moved.”

“Why would I?” Auntie Julie asked, sanding the top of a carving of a pizza delivery truck. Which was weird because all of her other carvings were bears. Must have been a commission. “I’ve only just moved in about fifty years ago.”

“Well, the only wizard I know that stays in one place is Ombric.” Jack explained, feeling a buzz in his head. As he spoke, clouds came out in puffs. “Usually, you guys move around a lot.”

“Yes, we do,” Auntie Julie nodded. “Now, what did you young’uns need?”

“Maybe a name?” Jack asked. “Have you heard of Mor’du?” 

“Oh, that wretched prince?” Auntie Julie huffed, turning her nose up. “That curse serves him right. What an awful man he was. There was no redemption for him, no sir.” She shook her head. “You wouldn’t belief how he treated his family. And he wanted to run the kingdom! Imagine if it fell into his hands? Chaos! The whole place would have fallen to ruin under his reign. Very lucky Marnie came to me when she did. There would have been too much blood shed for the kingdom to ever be peaceful again.”

“Wait—!” Merida slammed her hands on the table, leaning across with excitement. “You’re the witch that cursed him?!”

“Well, yes.” Auntie Julie leaned back in shock.

“Oh, good.” Jack sighed, holding his head, trying to focus. It was so hard to focus. He was seeing black spots. “How can we break the curse?”

“You can’t.” Auntie Julie said with a little too much chipper for the situation at hand. 

“What?” Hiccup came forward. “But we need to break the curse!”

“I warned you about playing that flute,” Auntie Julie shrugged, turning to throw some wood shavings into a cauldron. “Your fate has come back for you, young lady.”

“You’re saying her fate is for her and her family to get killed by a bear?!” Hiccup’s anger was boiling to the surface. Sounded to Jack like these two had it. Oh, please, let them have it. He was finding it so hard to follow. What Auntie Julie said next was lost when the sound of a winter wind whispered in his ear, begging for him to return. There must have been a draft somewhere. 

_Just this year, Jack! We’ll have fun, just like always! Please, Jack, we miss you! Play! Play! Play!_

Tears stung his eyes. For a very long time, the winds were all he had for company. He missed them, just as he missed the Guardians. They were his friends, his playmates, his way of travel. He swallowed a lump in his throat and tried to focus on the task again. So much was calling for him. Places that begged for snow. A blizzard. Early winter. He dug his thumbnail into his palm and turned to Merida and Hiccup. They hadn’t seemed to notice Jack checked out for a moment.

“Just… just me?” Merida crossed her arms uneasily. “Why just me?”

“First born in a long line, my dear.” Auntie Julie explained in a not-so-helpful manner. “Anyway, you can’t break the curse. Only Marnie could. And believe me, she tried. Just could not get close enough.” The woman shook her head. “If you ask me, he deserved everything he got. Even if he was soft on her, he still did not treat her like one should treat a proper lady, let alone his princess.”

“But… there has to be a way to break it!” Hiccup exclaimed.

“Or kill him,” Merida added grimly. 

“Will a dragon do the trick?” Jack asked tiredly. “With a curse that old?”

Auntie Julie chuckled. “You can try and kill him with a dragon. That one outside seems like he would be a worthy opponent.” She crossed over to a bookcase. She skimmed along the shelves until she found was she was looking for. Pulling the book out, she blew dust of the cover and hefted it onto a mostly-cleared section of a worktable. “Or, you can try this.” She muttered, flipping through the pages of the tome. She cried out “ah-ha!” when she found the passage she was looking for. “Let’s see… ‘A goblet made of moon dust washed in holy water blessed by the thirteen pope. Take the blood of a warrior, the blood of the cursed, and the blood of their enemy. All must be bled under the light of a harvest moon. With the blood, draw the following symbol. They must stand in the center and drink from the goblet a concoction of dittany, pond slime, and moondew on the night of a half moon.’ Oh, and there’s a specific recipe for the potion as well.”

Jack, Merida, and Hiccup looked at each other. Even Jack, with his half-way-there state knew just how impossible breaking this curse would be. There would be no other choice but to slay this monster. 

“Okay, how do we kill him?” Merida asked. “Take Toothless and let them duke it out?”

“Or a blade bathed in the blood of his most cherished and most despised.” Auntie Julie suggested helpfully as she slammed the tome. “That should do the trick; quick and simple!”

Yeah, that seemed just as likely. Since his wife and brother were both dead. And Jack would rather not make anyone bleed when they didn’t have to, thank you very much. He mentioned that curses involved a lot of gruesome details, didn’t he? Yeah. Blood was almost always involved. And it didn’t help that the curse was so old and had probably strengthened over time. He was certain the prince had lost himself to the beast that was Mor’du. 

Jack sighed. “Thanks, Auntie Julie.” He leaned forward, his muscles heavy and close to giving out entirely. “We’ll take it from here.” He reached into his pocket to fish out a handful of gold coins Susan had been unable to get rid of from his chest of artifacts. He set them on the table, letting her know that her information wasn’t without thanks. Even if it didn’t help them, it was useful. 

He was half-carried outside by Hiccup. When the door opened, the winds bombarded him with plees for attention and games. One step over the threshold, and they were silenced. Once he reached Toothless, he slumped onto the dragon, so ready for a nap. He was glad he didn’t look in the mirror. The winds were enough to depress him. Any more reminders, and he wasn’t sure how he’d be able to handle it. He felt so weak. On any given day, Jack was happy to share about his life as Jack Frost. But face with being him, even temporarily, Jack didn’t think he’d be able to take it. He missed everything about it.

Climbing onto Toothless, He was kept steady between Hiccup and Merida. He whispered an apology as the winds whistled around them during the flight back to the truck. This was the reason they took the truck in the first place, even though Toothless was faster. First, three people on the dragon’s back was rather heavy, even if all of them weren’t particularly bulky (some underweight for their size). But it wasn’t good on Toothless’s back. And second, because Jack demanded the heater be cranked up full blast because he was freezing.  Wrapped in blanket, teeth chattering, shivering to the bone freezing. He laid in the truck across the bench seat while Hiccup, Merida, and Toothless went to actually fetch their belongings.

Jack hung back with the ignition on. Heat. Oh, glorious heat. Wait. Why was the cold suddenly bothering him? Jack frowned. That was new. Last winter, he didn’t let the cold bother him. Sweatshirt, bare feet, rolled up jeans. He would be shivering and his teeth would be chattering, but he never paid it any mind. Why was it suddenly a problem?

Jack pondered this. He was left in deep thought, so when something slammed onto the hood of the engine, he yelled, sitting bolt upright. What the hell was that?! White pants and combat boots. Oh. Oh, that was so familiar. Jack pulled the keys out of the ignition as he climbed out of the truck to look at Cupid.

“What are you doing here?” Jack asked. 

Cupid turned to him with a bright, excited smile. “Oh, it’s getting exciting. One of my arrows is about to activate.”

Jack’s jaw dropped. “Please don’t tell me this is Hiccup and Merida.”

Cupid frowned. “Harald and Merida. I have not ever struck a Hiccup… what a strange name.”

It took Jack a moment to remember Hiccup’s real name was Harald. He scrambled to grab for the man. “Cupid, no!” Jack gripped his wrist. “Not right now. This is the worst possible time. See, there’s this cursed man out there that’s—”

“A bear, I know.” Cupid grinned. “This is going to be exciting. Would you like to watch?”

“No!” Jack cried out. “What the hell is wrong with you?! This isn’t some teen romance movie! This is the worst possible time you can—” He was cut short when Cupid’s hand twisted in his to grab him by the forearm. He was pulled into the sky.

“Jack, do you really have something against what I do?” Cupid asked as they evened out. Jack felt his heart race. This was just like flying. He felt weightless and graceful. The winds were carrying him again.

He needed to stay on task. Not revel in the old times. 

“No,” Jack yelled over the roaring winds and the beating of Cupid’s wings. “It’s not that. It’s just… how you execute it. Like this is all a game to you.”

Cupid rolled his eyes. “Jack, do you know how many boring couples I pair daily?” Jack didn’t respond. “Five-thousand is the average. Do you know how many people come together by exceptional means?” Jack frowned. “I’m lucky to have one a year. Your friend Jamie was  _boring_. Your friend Rapunzel is going to be  _boring_. I like to have fun sometimes, you know. Have you ever heard the saying ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’? I don’t want to be dull Jack.” Cupid gave him a sideways look. “I’d rather take lessons from the Guardian of Fun.”

Jack wasn’t quite sure what to say. He never thought Cupid would ever look up to him. Seriously, Jack was always the Immortal that was disregarded. By everyone. Nobody took him seriously and nobody wanted any part of him. At least, none of the ones that he had met. Even the first time he met Cupid, the bringer of love ignored him for the most part. 

“‘You’re boring anyway.’ Remember that, Jack?” Cupid asked. “It’s what you said after our first encounter. As you were leaving. You probably did not think I heard you, but I did.” Cupid smirked as he landed on a tree branch thick enough to hold Jack. Cupid’s own weight would do nothing. Jack used Cupid to steady himself. Below him, Merida and Hiccup were laughing and fooling around as they were finishing up backing. “I went a little over-board at first with the fun.” Cupid snickered. “But over the last fifty or so years, I cut back.”

Jack didn’t want to know just how many life-threatening, heart-break impending relationships were formed. “But… people’s lives and emotional stability are at stake here.” 

“That’s the risk when dealing with love.” Cupid shrugged. “Humans put such a heavy weight on the feeling. They naturally bring it upon themselves.”

“You’re an asshole.” Jack told him conversationally.

“How did you make a Guardian of Childhood?” Cupid chortled.

“I’ve wondered that since they shoved me in a sack.”

The two of them watched Hiccup and Merida. Toothless hummed (though it sounded like a rumbled) contently as he made himself comfortable, flicking leaves into the air with his tail. The two caught a face full of dead leaves. They laughed at their misfortune, then Hiccup began picking leaves out of her hair. 

“Hiccup’s is already active, right?” Jack wanted to make certain.

“Harald’s is.” Cupid confirmed.

Jack opened his mouth to ask another question when a roar shattered the near-silence of the forest. Hiccup and Merida froze. Toothless stood at attention. Jack scrambled to climb down. He had to help them. He had to make sure they got to safety. The beast was right there. Jack yelped, grabbing onto the branches as Mor’du swiped down the lower branches, shaking the tree. Jack called out for them. They had to be safe. They had to get out of there, uninjured. There was no way to beat this freaking thing! 

He watched as Hiccup and Merida mounted Toothless. They took to the air, not seeming to notice Jack there. Hiccup rounded Toothless on to Mor’du, having the dragon shoot fire and plasma blasts at the cursed man. His fur singed; he roared in pain. He made to scramble up another tree to reach the dragon. 

It seemed to happen in slow motion. Hiccup glanced back at Merida before he pulled a hunting knife from it’s place on his hip. The boy stood on the saddle, steadying himself on the reigns. Then… he jumped. He leapt from the dragon, landing on the back of the creature and stabbing down into the back of it’s neck. 

Jack thought (or hoped) that would have done the trick. But it only seemed to make the creature angrier. He threw Hiccup off of himself, making a horrible sound that sent a chill of fear down Jack’s spine. Hiccup rolled back onto his feet. Toothless swooped in to distract Mor’du as Hiccup went in for another try. Toothless shot a blast to his face as Hiccup used a log to lift himself into the air and jump on Mor’du again. Another stab. Another terrifying howl. 

Cupid dropped onto the branch with Jack. “Isn’t this exciting?”

“NO!” Jack cried. “They’re going to get killed!” Jack grabbed the man by his scalp, bringing him nose-to-nose with a very angry Jack Frost. Jack had never felt so terrified or mad. Cupid blinked, not in pain, but in shock. “Help me get him out of there.” he growled. “Now.”

“You know we can’t interfere.” 

“I’m a Guardian.” Jack gritted his teeth. He didn’t need any rules or whatever these kinds of Immortals had or thought they had. “I’m  _supposed_  to interfere. Who do you think you are? A god?”

“Jack—”

Jack sighed, letting go of his hair. He took some deep breathes. “Look. It’ll be… exciting.” Jack smirked. “Fun. You won’t just be watching from the sidelines.”

Cupid considered it. Jack looked down to see Hiccup stab Mor’du in his good eye. The boy was covered in blood and Jack only hoped it was Mor’du’s blood. Cupid seemed to come to an agreement. He lifted Jack without warning and swooped in to the scrawny boy that clung to the bear. Jack grabbed him by the arm as Cupid lifted them into the air. 

Hiccup was shaking. He looked up at Jack, pale as a ghost. He didn’t seem to really have any clue as to what happened and what was going on. When Toothless flew up to meet them, Jack dropped Hiccup onto the saddle with Merida.

“Jack, how are you—?” Merida’s voice quivered.

“Long story.” Jack looked at his free hand that was covered in blood. “Short story is: Cupid.”

They flew back to the truck. Jack stood aside with Toothless and Cupid as Merida tended to Hiccup on the truck bed. She gently wiped blood from his face. He seemed to be in shock. Jack was surprised. Hiccup… little, scrawny Hiccup got up, close, and personal with Mor’du. A creature that could kill him with just a swipe of the claw. 

Cupid smirked, satisfied. As he snapped, Merida leaned forward to place a kiss on Hiccup’s forehead. Jack had never seen her so tender before. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him in tight. Blood and all. Hiccup seemed to barely register it. His expression didn’t change, though his arms snaked around her back to return the embrace.

“As a thank you, I want to meet Sophie.”

“Go to hell, Cupid.” Jack folded his arms.

“Fair is fair.” the man snorted. “She can see me, right? I want to meet her.”

Jack frowned. He walked up to Merida. She turned to him and looked around blindly. “Is Cupid still here?” she asked. He nodded.

“How’s he doing?” Jack asked, climbing onto the bed of the truck with her. He looked to boy over. He didn’t see any wounds or visibly broken limbs.

“He’s just in shock,” Merida deducted, brushing hair out of his face. “I can’t believe he did that.”

“Me, either…” Jack frowned.

Looking at the boy, Jack realized Hiccup was starting to look less like a boy. His hair was a few inches longer, swept to the side. He started braiding a piece of hair behind his ear. His chest even seemed slightly broader than it had a year ago. He was taller and his face thinned out. He seemed more muscular, possibly from all the stuns he and Toothless pulled. Don’t get me wrong, he was still a scrawny twig. But he was clearly growing up. 

Jack hadn’t even noticed. In a year, the boy was beginning to become a man. 

“We should take him home before Stoick closes shop,” Merida suggested. “Get him cleaned up. Make sure he’s alright.”

Cupid cleared his throat. What a selfish jerk. Jack sighed. “You go ahead with Toothless.” he placed Hiccup’s keys in her hand. “I’ve got a cherub that won’t leave me alone. Call me if there’s any problems. Let me know when he snaps out of it, okay?”

Merida nodded. Jack helped her get Hiccup onto Toothless. He would have liked to request the dragon shoot at Cupid, but he was sure that would not go over so well. Jack made sure he had his phone on him and the doors of Hiccup’s truck were locked before Cupid took off with him. 

It was a mere flash and Jack stood with the Bringer of Love on their apartment doorsteps. He glared at the man who continued to smile pleasantly. Jack led him through the front door, up the steps, and into their room. Cupid had to squeeze his wings in tight to fit. Jack called into their home.

“Sophie!” he wondered if she was even home. She was. She poked her head around the kitchen door. His expression was one of clear annoyance. “Cupid wants to say hello.”

Her big doe eyes widened as her mouth dropped. Cupid crossed over to her, taking her hand to kiss her knuckle. “Pleasure to meet you Sophie. You and Jack were my favorite love story.” Cupid glanced at Jack amiably, then turned back to Sophie. “Until recently. No offense.” he winked.

Sophie sputtered, looking him up and down. “Uh… hot chocolate?”

He flashed a grin. “Love some.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry, Hiccup, you punching bag, you. I like beating him up in particular for some reason. It's fun.
> 
> Anyway, Cupid's a jerk, but he honestly doesn't realize it. He's just doing his job. He's actually really airheaded. Over time, he just loses sight of everything else and just focuses on love, so the fact that people can die goes right over his head. In my fanfiction Technicolor Dreams, I have his backstory and such (Chapter 17 if you just want to skip to that xD). Also, him and Sophie become, like, best friends. He's also portrayed differently there. Not completely, but a little bit.
> 
> I think I'm making up for the lack of Merida in earlier chapters now. Merida's story is longest out of the three. Maybe. Rapunzel's shouldn't be too long.
> 
> I honestly don't think it was supposed to end like this but I guess I shouldn't write fanfiction punch drunk and you'll get a silly shippy chapter next. Then the final battle or Mor'du. I don't feel like going back to change it.


	39. Chapter 39

This was not what Sophie was expecting when Jack came home from going off to see a witch about a curse. At the worst, she was expecting a body. At best, a shivering, sneezing, hypothermia-threatened boy. She got the best. But the visitor he came home with was… well… Cupid. Who… apparently wanted to meet her. And boy, he was a real gentleman.

He set his crossbow aside and offered his assistance when she asked if he wanted hot chocolate. She was too dumbstruck to decline, instead, she turned and began prepping the cocoa. The winged-man put the kettle on. He took the job from her, telling her to go sit on the couch with Jack. He requested that she help him warm up, perhaps get him some blankets. So, she did. She sat beside Jack, who was brooding. She wasn’t sure why. All Jack said was that he was a jerk.

Cupid entered shortly after with three mugs and a warm smile. Oh, god, he was so good looking. She couldn’t stop staring at those electric blue eyes. His face was perfectly symmetrical. His anatomy was perfect. That toning on his chest. Those abdominal muscles. That really cool tattoo that reminded her of a genre she enjoyed: Steampunk.

“I must draw you,” she sputtered. Cupid laughed.

Sophie told herself she had no trouble talking to Immortals. She never thought she would. But it was really hard to find something coherent to say to Cupid. He was too good looking. Perhaps the best looking man she’d ever set eyes on. It was intimidating and why the hell did he really want to meet her? She was a weird kid who had social anxiety problems and had honestly never done anything to deserve interest in her life.

“You’re welcome to.” he said as he sat in a chair. Sophie almost tripped over Jack in a mad scramble to grab her sketch book. She ran to her room, grabbing her book, a handful of pencils, and a couple of erasers. She was quick to get back into the living room and make herself comfortable to draw this Adonis.

“So, you’re here. Now what?” Jack grumbled.

“I’d like to talk about you two.” Cupid smiled. “I mean, you are on my list of favorites.”

“What, like your OTP or something?” Sophie asked from her place, looking up from Cupid to the sketchbook. She sometimes forgot people didn’t always speak the language of the internet. There was a confused silence that followed her comment.

“… Don’t look at me, I don’t have a clue what she’s talking about.” Jack snorted.

“… Never mind.” Sophie sighed. It would be too much of a hassle to try and explain it to them. Because One True Pairing didn’t always mean One True Pairing. Sophie had several of her own OTPs. Saya and Lunith from Kokoro Nana, her current favorite anime. Edward and Winry from an old anime called Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. And Pen and Book. That one was an inside joke she had with Jamie. But they were  _so_ meant to be together.

“So… why the sudden interest in getting to know your victims?” Jack huffed. “Especially the ones you planned to have end in heartbreak.”

“Are you still sore about that?” Cupid chuckled.

“Yes.” Jack and Sophie replied simultaneously, both with different tones. Jack, with venom. Sophie, quite matter-of-factly. She didn’t care. She never expected anything like this to happen. She didn’t expect that they’d ever actually  _be together_  and was thrilled.

“You’re not mad, Sophie.” Cupid said. It wasn’t a question.

“Well, no,” Sophie shrugged, trying to get his nose just right. “I mean, I didn’t actually know you were real. Until Jack told me about your meeting last year. I should have, though, right? I mean, I should have figured you were. I just never thought about it. But, I was in love with Jack for, like, ever before he became human. Okay, like, two-ish years. And I knew it would never work out. I was just having a hard time trying to get over it. But I knew I would eventually and that we would never actually be a thing. I never got my hopes up because that’s just stupid, right? Not every romance story ends like a shojo anime. I knew the difference between fiction and reality and love was nothing like fiction stories.” Sophie snorted. “Not like Jack was a vampire or anything and could turn me so we could be together forever and all that cheesy crap.”

“No,” Cupid agreed. “But that would have been adorable.”

Sophie looked up, furrowing her brows. “You sound like Rapunzel. She’s all into that teenage romantic movie crap.”

“He’s a teenage girl at heart,” Jack agreed, sipping his hot cocoa.

Cupid disregarded their comments. He turned to Jack smugly. “See? I told you she would have been fine.”

Jack frowned. His gaze turned to the drink in his hand, his expression pensive. Sophie tapped the pencil on the sketchpad, biting her lip. “What about Jack, though?” she began to work on perfecting the swoop of his dark hair. “Jack was Immortal. He probably wouldn’t have gotten another chance at finding somebody to at least distract him from how he felt about me. If I ever left, or found somebody, or died… would Jack have been okay?”

Cupid shrugged. “I am honestly not quite sure. He might not have even realized his heart was broken. I  _did_  have to tell him his feelings for you, after all.”

“And you can’t take those feelings away?”

Cupid shook his head. “I can only make them stronger for another.”

“Well, that would have sucked,” was all Sophie could think to say. It honestly would have been horrible if Jack was left with feelings for her while she moved on with her life. Not like she would have had a choice. She did want to settle down and have children eventually (now, hopefully with Jack). Before, Jack wouldn’t have been able to give that to her. He wouldn’t have been able to give her a family. He would have been forever a child. A child with a heart so big, his love for her and Jamie would have continued long past their deaths. He would hurt for a long, long time. Perhaps the rest of his Immortal life.

The very idea made Sophie’s heart ache for him.

“Though, it’s your own faults.” Cupid said casually. “Humans, once they realize their in love, deepen the feeling. I just set it in motion. You all take it beyond anything I could ever give.” He scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Hm. I suppose Immortals do the same thing. Is that just the magic of love?”

“Just how many Immortals have you struck?” Jack asked

“You and the Mermaid. Unless you want to count Immortals before they became Immortals, than-“

“No, no, thank you.” Jack’s jaw clenched and Sophie hoped he wouldn’t deck the poor guy. “I just wanted to see how big of a jerk you were.”

“Like I said before, the Mermaid was a game.” Cupid shrugged. “I genuinely believed you two were meant to be.”

“Like… Jamie and Laura?” Sophie asked uncertainly.

“Just like Jamie and Laura.” Cupid enunciated every word carefully. His smirk held a secret as he sipped the cocoa. Jack and Sophie gave each other sideways glances. … That was supposed to mean something. She knew it was supposed to mean something. Her brain worked furiously. What did that mean?

“Soulmates?” Jack threw out there.

“Maybe,” Cupid set his empty mug down.

Jack let out a noise of frustrated as he threw himself across the couch. Sophie shook her head, deciding she would just let what they were be what it was. Soulmates or not, Jack was hers and she wasn’t letting him go now that she had him. She bit her lip as she drew Cupid’s clockwork heart tattoo. As she focused on the art on his chest, she paused when she realized… it was beating. The freaking tattoo was beating. It was a slow and careful motion. The gears were slowly working. Unless you focused on it, you wouldn’t have noticed it. Oh, boy that was creepy

“So, what made you want to activate Merida’s in the middle of a bear attack?” Jack asked, the color slowly returning to his face.

Wait, wait, wait! “Mor’du attacked!?” Sophie squeaked.

Jack sat up and told her the story. He told her how he was just going to chill out in the truck when Cupid showed up. Jack’s anger was heard through the venom in his voice as he told her of Cupid’s interest in taking an audience for an attack from a cursed creature. His expression turned to one of admiration when he described Hiccup’s bravado. How he jumped right onto the bear. And when he was tossed, he got right back up again. He was actually smiling as he described the detail of Toothless and Hiccup’s dual attack.

“Sophie, you should have seen it. Hiccup was amazing.” Jack breathed.

“See?” Cupid chuckled.

“What?”

“Now you see what Merida saw.” Cupid nodded. “Merida saw a man, not a boy. She saw someone who would do anything for her. The moment she was certain he was safe, she realized what kind of person he was. And so, that activated the arrow.”

“It was a stupid move, though,” Jack frowned. “He could have died.”

“But he didn’t.” Cupid reasoned. “And you’re glad you saw that part of him, aren’t you?”

Jack pursed his lips. “I…”

“Now you know why I wanted to see it.” Cupid’s sparking eyes turned to Sophie. “They’re my favorite, now. Sorry.”

“… Understandable.” Sophie muttered. “What happened then? No one was hurt, right?”

“Hiccup was in shock, I think.” Jack sighed, checking his phone. He opened it and pressed a few buttons. “Merida texted me. She said he’s okay.” His fingers clumsily replied to the message. She was sure they were still stiff from being cold, but she also knew he was still having trouble using a phone, even though it had already been a year since he had received it.

Cupid gave a satisfied nod. “They are exciting.”

That afternoon was a strange one. Spent talking about their relationship. Sophie and Jack were never actually asked about it before. They barely even talked about it between themselves. It was a bit awkward. They were happy, that was all they really said. They would sometimes talk about the intimacies. Being kissing and a bit of exploration. The exploration being that Sophie was much more comfortable with than Jack. But no one talked about it. Jamie found it too strange since he’d known Jack all of his life. Hiccup and Merida had no interest in their romance, just their friendship. Rapunzel asked sometimes, but Sophie could tell she was a bit jealous (only because Jamie pointed it out). She wasn’t jealous that Sophie was in a relationship with Jack. Just that she was in love. Rapunzel wanted that.

That was all Cupid wanted. And that seemed to drive Jack insane. That he really just wanted to talk about them. And embarrass them ten times over. Try and bring up things neither were comfortable talking about. Jack and Sophie quickly diverted the conversation to something more comfortable.

Sophie perfected her picture of Cupid. It wasn’t as beautiful as the real thing, but man. He was pretty. He was a very pretty man. She wanted to touch his toned stomach. She held herself back for both of their sakes. She was just so taken in by his wonderful anatomy.

Cupid seemed to have gotten what he wanted: their love story. He wanted to meet Sophie because he rarely got a chance to meet the couples and actually enjoy their happiness. Sure, he could see them while he was invisible. But this was a rare chance to meet a pair and his only chance to discuss it. He loved a good love story. He congratulated them before Sophie walked him out. Jack seemed far less angry than he was when he got home, but wasn’t any less tired.

“Sooooo,” she rocked back on her heals once they stepped onto the sidewalk. “What does my soul look like?” It was a burning question. She really wanted to know how closely she matched Jack. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to handle the disappointment if they were complete opposites. Not when Jack made her so happy the way they were.

“Hmm,” Cupid tapped his chin. “What do  _you_ think your soul looks like?”

“Uhh,” Sophie twisted her hair uncertainly. “Um… maybe a gray circle. A boring color with curved edges. Soft and uninteresting.”

Cupid snickered. “Let me tell you a secret.” He put a hand on her shoulder, bending to her level. God, he was so tall. “It’s really easy to look at your soul. You just… have to know where to look.”

Sophie was beginning to agree with Jack on some things about this guy. “You’re really unhelpful.”

“Tell you what,” he crossed his arms, standing back straight. “You try and figure it out. If you don’t have it by the next time I see you, I’ll tell you. But I will tell you this: It’s not soft and uninteresting.”

“A purple spiral!” she guessed.

He only laughed. That wasn’t an answer. A laugh didn’t tell her yes or no. She pouted at him. He responded by kissing her check. With a bid of farewell, he flew off.

“Do souls even come in spiral shapes?” she asked herself as she stepped back up to her apartment. When she walked in, Jack asked why she was red in the face. She hadn’t realized the blush that crept up with the simple gesture. Jack began to tease her, asking if she had been denied a date by Cupid. She head butted him in the gut and wrestled him to the ground.

A few days later there was a gathering of the friends to discuss what happened with Auntie Julie. They all agreed that it was an utterly pointless. Unless they could find the name of the prince and Mor’du’s wife (or even Mor’du’s family name), they were out of luck. They could go back and ask Auntie Julie, but Merida figured it would just be better to sweep it under the rug and not return to the forest. She could handle a few years before the next attack. She had lived this long. She was sure a beat would not be her end.

Merida sighed heavily, laying back on the couch she shared with Hiccup. He looked perfectly fine. Not a scratch on him. When asked to describe what he was thinking when he attacked Mor’du, the answer was quite simple.

“I wasn’t.” Hiccup shrugged. “I just kind of felt this… blind rage. This… this  _thing_  hurt Merida. It almost killed her and it was trying to again and… well, I wasn’t going to let it. I wasn’t thinking ‘Hey, we’re on Toothless, we’re safe and can fly away.’ I was thinking ‘This bastard is going to pay.’”

Jack shook his head. “Seriously, Hiccup. That was… it was amazing, but it was also terrifying. Just… I couldn’t believe that was you. It was so… un-Hiccup-like.”

“I honestly didn’t even feel like myself,” the boy shook his head. “Kind of like an out of body experience.”

“Yer an idiot.” Merida grumbled.

“I know.”

“Don’t do it again.” she ordered.

“Yes, your highness.”

“I mean it!”

“I promise it won’t happen again.” he traced an X over his chest. 

“Good,” she crossed her arms, kicking him in the leg. Fortunately for him, it was his prosthetic. Unfortunately for her, it was his prosthetic. She hissed, grabbing her bare foot to assess the damage. Hiccup forced himself not to laugh. 

“That’s so brave of you, Hiccup.” Rapunzel told him, admiration doting her voice. 

The boy rubbed the back of his head. “Honestly, it wasn’t.” Hiccup bit his lip. “I just… I was scared. Terrified. And it wasn’t even for myself.” Pink tinged his cheeks as his eyes downcast. Sophie turned to Jack who was hiding a smirk. “I actually don’t really remember what happened. Just… that I wanted to get back at this thing that hurt Merida.”

“Yer an idiot.” Merida repeated, curling in on herself.

“I know.” he replied in the same tone.

“I oughta…”

“Gut me, I know.”

“‘M not worth killin’ yerself over.” she grumbled.

Hiccup turned full body towards her. She glared up at him through her light lashes, frowning. “Merida. You’re my friend. I… I really care about you. I’d have no regrets dying for you.” He turned to the group. “Any of you. I’d take a bullet. I’d take twenty.”

“Doesn’t mean ye throw yerself in the line of fire.” Merida punched his arm. 

“I would, though,” Hiccup shrugged. 

“Hiccup.”

“Merida.”

Their gazes met. Merida searched Hiccup, frowning slightly. Her voice was low. Almost too low for Sophie to hear. “When did ye become such a man?” Hiccup’s eyebrows shot up. Her gaze was soft as she turned away from him. “I need some air. You all try and sort this mess out.” 

And quick like that, she was out the door, leaving everyone but Jamie confounded. Jamie only crossed to the window to look down into the courtyard. After a moment, he jabbed a thumb outside. “Hiccup, go to her.” Hiccup opened his mouth to protest or question, but the look Jamie gave him shut him right up. Jamie then gave his friend a nod of encouragement. Hiccup sighed, rocking to his feet. He took a look at the others who ushered him to go to her.

Once Hiccup left the apartment, Jack, Rapunzel, and Sophie scrambled to the windows. Outside, Merida sat under the tree in the middle of the courtyard. Sophie knew it was rather chilly that day. Merida only proved it by drawing her wool sweatshirt closer to her. Her expression couldn’t be made out by the distance. 

“What are the chances she’s going to beat him up?” Rapunzel asked. It wouldn’t have been the first time she kicked his butt and he let her. 

“Who wants to place bets?” Jamie asked, holding out a hand. 

“You’re horrible, Jamie.” Sophie frowned. 

Jack pushed open a window, pressing his ear against the screen, straining to hear Hiccup and Merida. Once Hiccup made it to the courtyard, Merida’s voice raised. It was still pretty inaudible. The winds carried her voice in the other direction. Hiccup’s back was turned to them, making it impossible to see his expression. He stood motionless as she continued to yell at him. 

She grabbed him by the scruff. The three in the apartment cringed as she pulled her arm back. Jamie stood up, ready to stop her from beating him too badly. He didn’t deserve to get hurt. He didn’t deserve Merida’s anger when all he was trying to do was protect her. Then… she pulled him down.

Just ask quickly as she pulled him in, Merida shoved Hiccup away. The red-head wiped her mouth, turning away from him. As she moved to walk away, Hiccup grabbed her arm, pulling her into his chest. He kissed the top of her head. 

That was… eventful. Sophie didn’t understand how it worked for them. She really didn’t. Merida was so independent and liked it that way. But in the end, she really did seem to depend on Hiccup in some ways. She depended on him to keep her temper in check. She depended on him when she needed someone to talk to. She depended on him to be there for her, when she would push away her other friends.

Jack and Jamie shared a high five. Rapunzel squealed with delight. Sophie was able to elicit strange stares from her peers.

“Well… Cupid’s OTP became canon, I suppose.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn't turn out as ship-y as I hoped. Buuuut it's fun to write from Sophie's point of view. What someone from a fandom considers normal terms, is actually quite strange. Try speaking internet to someone who only goes on Facebook (or stays away from the fandom side of the internet). I've tried. They don't understand me.
> 
> Halfway through the chapter, I kind of lost where I was heading. Then was like: "Okay, Mericcup needs to happen." I hope it wasn't too forced or anything.
> 
> I haven't actually decided if Sophie and Jack are actually soul mates, so that's why Cupid keeps evading the answer. Author just likes to write cop-outs. I'm sorry.


	40. Chapter 40

Merida and Hiccup were not the average couple. In fact, you wouldn’t even know they were together unless they told you. Jamie found it quite refreshing after having to deal with Jack and Sophie and their sickeningly sweet relationship. Not that Jamie and Laura didn’t have their gooey moments, but it wasn’t anything like Jack and Sophie. So, Merida and Hiccup were refreshing. 

Merida would still tease Hiccup. She still kept her space. Hiccup still kept up with her outdoors nature. He still made an effort for her. They would wrestle and fool around, especially since it started to snow. Never had Jamie seen them kiss openly. It wasn’t even until early December that he’d even seen them kiss at all. There was no hand-holding, close bodies, or awkward glances. There was comfort in their separation. 

Then there was the fact that, even after they kissed the first time, they still weren’t “together.” It was really frustrating for everyone because everyone knew and the two went on like nothing happened. Later, Hiccup disclosed to Jamie that the two of them were trying to work out what exactly happened in that courtyard. While Hiccup knew how he felt, Merida did not. Yet, she made the first move. She accepted his embrace. And still… nothing. Merida was stubborn. She valued independence. She didn’t want a relationship.

But she fell into one, anyway. 

And when she did, she was actually a little possessive of Hiccup. Not in the jealous way. Just that she wanted to be around him a lot more. She wasn’t crazy about it, though. Hiccup wanted her company.

Why was Jamie surrounded by such weird relationships? He hoped when Rapunzel got into one, it would be normal, like his and Laura’s. 

Sitting with Jack, Sophie, Merida, and Hiccup was like watching some weird teen romantic comedy. Their relationships were so polar opposite. Jack and Sophie would have contact in some way or other, be it holding hands, cuddling, piggy-back rides, or just sitting close enough for their knees to be touching. Always with the touching. Jamie wondered if they even realized what they were doing sometimes. It just seemed so absentminded, like they had been waiting an eternity for each other, so now that they were finally together, they refused to be apart. Or maybe the notion wasn’t so romantic. They were more like Siamese Twins. Merida and Hiccup were just… best friends. There was nothing romantic about them. Nothing that seemed like they were more than friends, nor less than. 

It was so weird. But Jamie seemed like the only one that noticed. Rapunzel and Laura had not, clearly. Rapunzel didn’t even really acknowledge her friends were companions. That everyone around her seemed in a relationship, but her. She honestly seemed completely okay with it, especially since no one made her feel like a third wheel. Sophie was her best friend and would sometimes even put her before Jack and Jamie. They didn’t mind, of course. Rapunzel was her first real friend in such a long time, they were just glad they found each other. 

Laura acknowledged it. But she wasn’t as close to them as Jamie was. Jamie knew it was weird, that his best friends were younger. But Jamie and Laura had friends from college they still met up with often. Laura had some pretty awesome coworkers. She had her friends that Jamie got along with, just as Jamie had his friends that Laura got along with. There wasn’t a need to meld all friendships into one. Which was perfectly understandable. They did have friends they shared and couples they went on double dates with. So, when Laura came home greeted with a houseful of younger friends, she could easily sit with them and join them. 

Around Christmas, Jamie was becoming anxious. First, he was bringing Laura to Christmas dinner this year. Fuck. Second, they were planning on bringing Hiccup, Merida, and Rapunzel with them to the Christmas party this year. Fuck. While both were good things, they also caused a hell of a lot of stress for Jamie. First, he needed to make sure everyone could see everyone. All of the Guardians and Immortals and what-not. He remembered a suggestion that Ombric, Katherine, and Nightlight should be invited that year, so he had to make sure the others believed they existed. And second, well, that would be trouble when they got there. He couldn’t prepare Laura or Jack enough for dinner with his awful relatives. It almost made him miss the little family he met of his father’s (his grandmother and… well, that was it. Jamie never really met any of his father’s family). Normal kids had it easy. If they didn’t like one side of the family, they had another to fall back on. But the only relative from his father’s side had died not long before he left. 

Jamie scowled. He didn’t like thinking about his father. If there was one person in the universe he hated, it was his father. Why? Because he  _loved_  his father so much. He loved this man, adored him. He was Jamie’s hero (and Jamie could hardly remember why anymore). And the bastard  _left_  them. He left his wife. He left his baby daughter. He left his  _son_. The only family the man had.

The only person he ever talked about his father with was Laura. He hadn’t even talked to Sophie or Jack about him. Laura asked him every now and again hesitantly, tentatively. She really just wanted to help Jamie let out all of this pent up anger and frustration. Little chunks of it, building up over time and corroding him away. He should have been over it. He should have. The man was seven when he left, it had been  _twenty fucking_  years! Nobody could get it out of him like Laura could. Not his mother. Not his sister. Not his best friend. Laura.

It was hard to imagine Jamie as an angry rage beast, right? He was fairly docile. Rarely ever got angry. Mostly because he kept that childhood feeling of hope and wonder, but he supposed he kept more than that from childhood. The anger and agony of his hero leaving without a word. Some of that eased when his knew hero came along. Oh, how it had been so easy to make Jack Frost his hero. He wasn’t exactly real. He was, but at the same time, he wasn’t. Jack Frost knew how to say good bye. He made promises to return next winter. He made promises that he always  _always_  kept.

But when the subject of his father came into light, all of his hate and anger came out at once. He had smashed furniture more than a few times. He turned all of that power out in Tae Kwon Do, where they were allowed to beat inanimate objects and break boards and occasionally beat each other (Jamie never let his anger go while he sparred—he didn’t trust himself). Only with Laura was he able to calmly tell her what he remembered about his father. 

Which, now, was not very much. So why the hell was he still angry?!

With all of the stress piled on top of him, you could only imagine when Jamie came home to find Jack leveled with the window of a beat-up Corolla, talking to a stranger. Jack, dressed in his usual hoodie and sandals (even with snow on the ground), looked to Jamie with wide eyes before turning back to the man Jamie could not clearly see. Jamie, in all his curiosity, walked up to Jack, amiably asking who he was talking to. When Jamie got close enough, he instantly recognized him.

It wasn’t hard. His sister looked just like him. A man in his early fifties with worry lines in his forehead and around his mouth. Blonde hair that was starting to streak with gray was cut short rather shoddily, like it was a quick, careless cut. The youngest looking feature he had were his vibrant green eyes. Even with age, there was still something boyish about him. 

Jamie’s friendly expression deadpanned. He grabbed Jack by the elbow, probably rather roughly, and pulled him towards their apartment. Jack was in shock, but he did not protest. The man in the car got out. Jamie heard him slam the door shut.

“Jamie?” he asked.

Jamie ignored him; the man didn’t follow. Jamie let go of Jack when he was sure the other would take his lead and go upstairs. Once there, he found Sophie with her arms wrapped around herself, frowning in confusion.

“Did you find out who weirdo was and why he’s been sitting out there for, like, hours?” she asked.

“Just some dick,” Jamie spat, making his way into the kitchen to make himself a drink. He’d need about ten. Yeah. That sounded good. He hoped there was enough mixers or at least some beer in case he ran out. 

Sophie trailed him. “You know him?”

“Nope,” Jamie grunted, pouring maybe too much rum into his glass of soda. 

“What did he—?”

“Sophie!” Jamie slammed his hands onto the counter. “Just drop it!” Shit. He shouldn’t have yelled. He shouldn’t have said anything. He never wanted to take his rage out on Sophie. She was just asking an innocent question.

The girl fell silent. She glanced out the window. Jamie followed her gaze. The Corolla was still there. The man, sitting inside. God fucking damn it. “Was that… was that Dad?”

Jamie exhaled through his nose. In. Out. Relax. “I need to make a phone call.” With that, he left their apartment. He paced on the second floor landing, phone to his ear, listening to the ringing. Why didn’t she answer on the first ring?! Relax, Jamie. Who answers on the first ring.

“Hello?” her voice was too happy for his mood.

“He’s outside.” Jamie blurted. 

“What? Jamie, who—?”

“ _He’s_  outside.” Jamie tried to clarify.

“Jamie.” his mother implored. “You aren’t being very specific.”

“The bastard that left you!” Jamie yelled. “He’s outside! He’s parked. Right in front of our apartment. Just fucking sitting there!” He normally would never speak this way with his mother. But when he was riled up, Jamie was riled up. All censors off. 

“… Jamie,” she sighed. “Okay… If he doesn’t leave in an hour, call the police.”

“I don’t fucking care that he’s sitting outside!” Jamie pressed his free palm against the wall, trying to let off some steam. “I just want to know why the fuck he’s here! Did you tell him where we live?”

“No,” Susan replied firmly. “Jamie, I know how you feel about him. I’d never tell him where you are.” 

“How did he find us?” Jamie breathed, pushing his forehead against the wall. “What does he even want? After all these years. Twenty  _fucking_  years.” Jamie never experienced a panic attack before. Right now, he felt pretty damn close to having one. He should have called Laura. But she should be on her way home from work soon.”Mom… what should I do?”

“Well, don’t confront him.” she said matter-of-factly. “Come over for dinner and calm down.”

Why was he the only one freaking out over this? His mother sounded so calm. His sister seemed kind of  _excited_  and Jack… well, Jack didn’t matter at this point. Jack never met their father. He was probably confused. 

“Dinner is pasta.”

“Want me to bring anything?” Jamie asked, forcing civility. 

“Nope. I’ll see you soon.”

They exchanged brief pleasantries before hanging up. Jamie clutched his phone tightly, wanting nothing more than to throw it at the wall. While talking with his mother soothed him microscopically, he still wanted to go out there and beat the man within an inch of his life. How dare he? How  _dare_  he come within a five-hundred mile radius of his children after he abandoned them twenty years ago? It took Flynn coming out of his apartment and asking questions for Jamie to turn his back to his friend and fetch Jack and Sophie. 

This wasn’t Flynn’s probably. Flynn, the orphan, would probably tell him how luck he even was to have his father, who left them, outside. Flynn would have loved to meet his own parents, even after they had dropped him off at an orphanage. He would love to know what kind of people they were and he would love to learn  _why_. Jamie didn’t care about why. He really didn’t. He stopped questioning  _why_  after he turned eleven and all of the letters and brief phone calls stopped entirely. 

All Jamie knew was that he was a liar and if he cared at all for his family, he would have been there. Or at least visited. 

Jamie ordered Sophie and Jack to put coats and shoes on. He sat on the couch, taking deep breaths. He texted Laura to tell her to meet them at Susan’s. He left out any and all detail. He could share with her when she got there. If he did, it would have come out angry and he already was showing his blind rage to his best friend and his little sister. This was a side Sophie had rarely seen, and he knew that. He tried to keep it all in check. But, Jack. His best friend. His childhood hero (and admittedly  he still was someone Jamie looked up to). Jack had never been exposed to this, and Jamie made sure he didn’t. He didn’t want to disappoint Jack.

Glancing to Jack now, as they descended the stairwell, Jack’s expression was unreadable. He glanced to Jamie, not with fear, but maybe with a little curiosity and a lot of… something. It only made Jamie more irritated to think that maybe he did disappoint Jack. 

Jamie made sure to step outside first. The man was still parked across the street. Jamie stood in front of Sophie, who tried to peer around her brother. He was taller than her, and taller than Jack. Jamie linked arms with her, keeping to the outside of the sidewalk. He didn’t want the man to see Sophie. It was selfish and callous of him, he knew this. But the man had a way of making Jamie act out, without even having to have said a word to Jamie. Once they reached the car, Jamie opened the door for Sophie, obstructing their father’s view of her. He didn’t deserve to even catch a glimpse of his daughter. 

When Jamie rounded to the driver’s side, Jack opened the back door. He was frowning at Jamie now. Jamie wasn’t sure if Jack noticed Jamie was trying to hide Sophie (he thought he was being pretty casual about it). 

“He said—”

“Jack,” Jamie interrupted, looking at the hood of his car. “Please. I don’t want to hear it.”

Jack shrugged off Jamie’s tone before climbing into the back seat. Jamie wanted to punch something. He closed the door behind him and drove off. Jamie checked the rear view, probably about ten times more than he needed to. He really didn’t want to be followed. He didn’t want his father following them to Susan’s. It looked like the Corolla wasn’t there. They weren’t being followed.

The ride was awkward. Jamie knew it. His mood stilled the air, making Sophie stiff and Jack fidgety. He had to make this right. He had to calm down. Jamie took a deep breath.

“You know… he gave me all those books as a kid.” Jamie started, keeping his eyes on the road. He wanted to speed. He was probably going faster than he needed to with the snow on the roads. “He gave me all the books about mythology and the paranormal and the weird. They were all of my favorite books. He… he was the reason I was into all that crap. The reason I believed in it with all of my heart.” 

Jack and Sophie were quiet. Jamie never spoke about the man. Not once. He’d usually snap if the subject was brought up. But he figured they had a right to know why he was so mad.

“I think he was a paranormal investigator or something.” Jamie frowned. “Not like ghosts. But… you know. Big Foot and stuff. The monsters. Mom said he studied them. He used to go away to study them. When he left for good, I thought he was going away on another trip. But… this time, he didn’t say goodbye. No note. No phone call. Nothing. Just… woke up one morning and he was gone.

“Mom was a wreck, everyone was telling me I had to be the man of the house, I had to take care of Sophie and Mom and… I was seven.” Jamie felt his eyes burn. “I was seven and left with the responsibility to take care of my family. But Mom,” Jamie smiled fondly, trying to discretely catch a tear before it fell. “Mom told me I didn’t have to worry. She would take care of everything.” Jamie heaved a sigh. “And she did. Until Sophie got hurt in that car accident and I felt so responsible… I realized I  _did_  have to take care of her and Mom. 

“But… I hate him.” Jamie clenched the wheel tightly. “I hate him for forcing that on me as a kid. I hate that he was the one that showed me all of my favorite things. He used to send me books he thought I would like, after he left. I read them and it hurt. Because I did. I loved all of them. So, I stopped reading them. He knew me so well and he didn’t even have to be there. I hate him because he was a great father, but he  _left_. He was my hero…”

Jack and Sophie were stunned. They stared at Jamie, who refused to meet their gaze. He looked straight ahead, knuckles white on the wheel. He slid a little on the ice, but was quick to regain control. Almost there. They were just entering Burgess. Still, nobody said anything. Jamie wasn’t going to cry. He was a grown man, damn it. He didn’t have fucking daddy issues.

Jamie turned up the radio. The anger was fading back to the familiar burning. The constant burning. Why? Why did he leave them? Why did he hurt them? It couldn’t be his work. Bringing it back up, Jamie knew that the monsters were more-or-less harmless. Some of them. And if he did come across something dangerous, Jamie wouldn’t have heard from him again. He wouldn’t have heard from his father until he was eleven and what the hell could make a man even want to keep in contact when he obviously didn’t want to be there?

And he was fucking back again. 

It wasn’t to grovel for forgiveness. That much was clear. He would have tried to follow Jamie and talk to him when Jamie walked up to the car. He knew what Jamie looked like now. He recognized him. How? How did he even find them? … Oh god. Social networking. The internet. You could so easily find anyone through technology these days. Why wasn’t that the first idea to pop up? Jamie’s first order of business was to make all of his social networking profiles private. Get new accounts under a pseudonym. Except for Facebook. God damn it, Facebook, why are you connected to every god damn site you sign up for?! He would have to change the name under his Facebook, probably. He’d also make sure Sophie did the same thing. 

That could wait until they got home. Pulling up to Susan’s house, their childhood home, their safe haven, he stepped outside, made sure it was clear before unlocking the car doors. He wasn’t outside. Jamie felt a wave of relief. 

Inside, Susan pulled Jamie into the privacy of the kitchen. There, she pulled him into a warm embrace, rubbing his back and stroking his hair, and humming that familiar tune, “Hey Jude.” One thing about Susan was she was a Beatles fan. Their pets were all named in accordance to songs. Abby, their previous Greyhound, for Abbey Road. And Lucy, her current Greyhound, for Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. While it honestly wasn’t her choice to name them, they just happened to catch her eye. She liked to think they were named for the songs, but Jamie knew better. Being rescues, it was just coincidence or Susan picked them out solely for their names.

His mother held him. In such the familiar fashion of comfort and safety. It was her way of assuring him she was there and everything was going to be okay. The last time they shared a moment like this, Sophie had been hurt and he was blaming himself. He tried to push Susan away (she only held on tighter) because he wasn’t a child and didn’t need her sympathy. Memories rushed in. He was seven and scrapped his knee. He was nine and hurt his toe. He was eleven and their father stopped all contact. 

This time, he didn’t push her away. He clutched onto her tightly, not wanting to leave this haven. This mother that cared for him and nurtured him and helped him to grow into the man he proud to be. Because she was an amazing mother and because of her, they really didn’t need their father. 

He didn’t cry. He was proud of himself for not crying. Sophie was so lucky to not remember him. She didn’t have an attachment to him when he left. Jamie wished it was that way for him. While he could only remember fuzzy details, he remembered the feeling of being loved and cherished. He remembered his father knew him well. He remembered career day was awesome because he was proud of what his Dad did and he made it cool for all the other kids, even if the other parents didn’t think it was a real job. 

When Laura arrived, it wasn’t hard for her to realize something was amiss. Jack and Sophie were in the window seat, quietly discussing something. Susan and Jamie were waiting for her. When she arrived, she cracked a joke, forcing a smile, trying to lighten the mood. Jamie snorted, giving her a fond look as he embraced her as tightly as he could. It was hard with her enlarged belly. Jamie placed a hand on her stomach, silently promising the child he would not leave them, like his father before him. Not for anything. 

When they sat down for dinner, Susan explained the situation to Laura. Laura frowned, but made no comments. She rubbed her stomach, worry creasing her brow. It was a habit she formed for several moods. Happy, excited, worried, angry. Then again, it may be because of the strange change to her own body. But she was taking it all so well. Better than Jamie. It was like she was having her fourth kid, not her first. Jamie was more anxious than she was. Jamie was making sure she was eating the right foods, reading books about what she needed to know out loud to her, taking the right precautions. Jamie was even scared of her driving at first. She wasn’t the most careful driver. He wanted to take her everywhere. She was having none of that. That was where she drew the line. 

Jamie calmed down considerably when Laura arrived. If Jack was disappointed in Jamie, he wasn’t the only one. Jamie almost began to hate himself for how he acted and what he wanted to do. He didn’t voice it out loud, but Laura sensed enough of something to hold his hand and scoot closer to him on the couch when dinner was finished.

Laura stroked his hair when he leaned on her shoulder. He breathed in her familiar scent. Lavender body wash. A tiny hint of vanilla that clung to her clothes from an air fresher at work. And, lately, a lotion to rub on her stomach to ease the stretch marks. 

“You know, your father…” Susan sighed, leaning against the armrest of the chair. She caught Sophie’s attention. Jamie’s hand only squeezed Laura’s tighter. “Your father was an extraordinary man. And he loved you two more than the world itself.” She scratched the corner of her eye, frowning. “He’s the reason you two were so into believing in everything mythical and magical. He didn’t believe in Santa, but he made sure you thought he was real.”

She let out a stressed chortle, pushing hair away from her eyes. “He hunted down fairies and gnomes, but didn’t believe in the Tooth Fairy.” Susan smiled fondly. It was a familiar smile, one she gave her children when she was proud of them. “There was this one time, he took Jamie and I on one of his studies. Jamie was three. He wanted to study fairies. It was only later that I learned the reason he really wanted Jamie there was to draw them out. Bait. Fairies have a thing for first borns. Kidnapping them and bringing them to their realm. I was there to make sure Jamie stayed with us. Boy, did Ahrima get an earful for that when I found out. But he really wanted us safe….” Susan laughed. “Jamie grabbed one of the fairies and squeezed her so tight. She bit him to escape and all of the fairies vanished. I thought Ahrima would get mad. He hadn’t finished his study. But he just laughed and took Jamie from me to make sure he was alright.”

Jamie froze. He was completely stunned. His father… actually… he  _found_ them? He found them and Jamie was introduced to the strange world because of his father? Jamie had no idea. He had no clue, but now that he had, it made so much sense. Why he was such a strong believer. Why he had so much faith, even after his friends lost theirs. It wasn’t just because Jack Frost stuck around after winter. His friends had seen Jack frequently, too. Eventually, they stopped believing. But Jamie and Sophie… Jamie was strong because of his father. And Sophie was strong because of Jamie. There was a domino effect that started with a man that had a strange hobby and involved his wife and child in it.

“Wait, so… he actually… he chased down our kind?” Jack sat upright. “He actually believed in the Immortals?”

“Well, he didn’t think of them as ‘Immortals.’ He called it the paranormal and the weird.” Susan explained. “I suppose that’s why I was just so accepting of the fact you were Jack Frost. Because I’d seen that world. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to take Sophie on any trips. The last one was when Jamie was five, and, well, unicorns don’t really like men. Ahrima got trampled pretty hard.”

Jamie ran his hands down his face. Unicorns. Fairies. How much had Jamie seen that he could not recollect? He had zero memory of all of this. “Why didn’t you tell us about this before?” Jamie asked.

“Because, well, you got mad whenever the subject of your father was brought up.” Susan replied, slightly amused. “And I tried to imagine all that weird stuff I’d seen with you two. I wasn’t one hundred percent certain you’d believe me if I told you. You might think I was trying to be funny.” Her eyes downcast. “And I was afraid you’d ask me to show you. That isn’t my world. It’s yours and your father’s. I don’t belong.”

Laura reached over and took her hand. Jamie, for the first time, realized Laura felt the same way. As fantastic as the world they were so familiar with was, it wasn’t really theirs. They were introduced to it and sort of dragged in by their loved ones. Jamie never figured Laura felt like it was  _his_  world. He wanted her to be as much a part of it as he was. 

In the end, though, it seemed she accepted that she could only be accepted into it to an extent. She wouldn’t go on fantastic adventures. She wouldn’t be threatened by some crazy Immortal being or cursed bear. She seemed… pretty content with it. She was okay with it. As was his mother. Together, they were strangers in a magical world. Ordinary folk. They didn’t quite belong.

There was a ring of the doorbell. Everyone became still. Susan uncertainly got to her feet, crossing over to the door. Jamie stood up, following close behind her. She made sure to hold her arm out, block him from getting to the door as she opened it.

In the porch light, stood his father. The man’s green eyes widened and he licked his lips anxiously. 

… How fucking dare he?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's really fun writing from Jamie's point of view because he's really observant, but that made this chapter almost 6500 words and counting. I cut it down to put the rest in the next chapter. I'm sorry, I know I'd said I'd so something with Merida, but then there was the subject of family brought up and Jamie's hatred of his father and I was planning on writing this chapter for a really long time SO I DID.
> 
> So, Merida's ending will be sometime during the spring. Rapunzel's arch will be during the summer.


	41. Chapter 41

“I’m sorry… I just…” he stumbled over his own words and the fact that he sounded so much like his sister made it all worse. Jamie felt his body moving on it’s own. He gently, though firmly, moved his mother’s arm out of the way. As he began to advance on the man, an arm pulling back, ready to snap. Thin arms wrapped themselves around his chest, pulling him back.

Who the—Jack! Jack expertly pulled Jamie back, twisting his arm behind him and holding him in a head-lock. Jamie tried to maneuver out of it, only to have Jack kick his knees out. He fell on them, hard. Jamie knew he would never be able to escape Jack’s hold, even though the boy was physically weaker than him and thinner than him and shorter than him. Jack was just too well trained, but that didn’t stop Jamie from trying. 

Susan crouched to his level and held his face. Laura was there with a hand on his shoulder. He was sure Sophie was watching. Jamie looked past his mother to glare at the man that had not moved from his spot on the porch. Even when his son could have potentially beaten him to a pulp if Jack had not been there to stop him. He didn’t so much as flinch.

“How  _dare_  you?!” Jamie growled, still trapped by Jack. “You have the  _fucking_ nerve….” He gasped when Jack pulled him back more. He must have been trying to lunge for him. 

“I know.” His eyes were sad and kind and he shouldn’t ever look at Jamie like that. The man pitied himself and it was so clear, it hurt to even look at him. Jamie didn’t want to feel sympathy for him. He was making it so fucking hard. 

“Then what  _are_  you doing here?!”

“I just…” Ahrima sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I wanted to talk to Susan. Try and… explain—”

“After twenty years?” Jamie barked a humorless laugh. 

The man looked to his feet. “I didn’t expect you two to be here.” He looked from Jamie to somewhere behind him where he assumed Sophie was standing. His expression was relieved, his eyes were bright. “Sophie… you’re beautiful.”

“You’re… you’re really our dad?” Jamie stopped struggling. 

“Yes,” he nodded. “And I’m so sorry I couldn’t watch you grow up.”

“I… Hm…” Jamie heard her shuffling. “We did okay.” she said uncertainly. “On our own. We were fine without you but… it would have been nice if you were there.”

“I know.” He turned to Susan. His eyes were pleading, begging, praying for trust. “Susan… if… you could just… spare a few minutes. I swear I’ll be quick. And I’ll be gone forever.”

Susan smiled softly and sadly and Jamie’s heart broke for her. She would never admit it, but Jamie knew she was still so in love with Ahrima. 

Susan instructed for Jamie to stay inside. She stood up, closing the front door behind her. Jamie went limp, numbly telling Jack he could let go of him. Jack hesitantly did so, allowing Jamie to curl on his knees. He was so angry and so frustrated but the man before them was so clearly wracked with the guilt of leaving his family that it was hard to keep his rage to a boil. Laura used Jamie to get to her knees as Sophie ran into the living room. Jack looked from Jamie to Sophie. Jamie nodded to him to let him know he could see what Sophie was up to. The other left them.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “I’m sorry you saw me like that.”

Laura left butterfly kisses on his face. “I love you, Jamie.” she said firmly. “And I know how he makes you feel, but…”

“Did I scare you?”

“A little.”

“I’m so sorry…”

“Jamie!” A harsh whisper called from the other room. Jamie leaned back to look at Sophie who was sitting in the window seat, beckoning him. “Come here!”

Jamie helped Laura stand and the two of them joined Jack and Sophie by the window. Sophie had the window slightly open and the voices of their parents carried through. She was spying on them. She was curious and wanted to know what they were talking about. And, well, they were siblings after all. Jamie joined her in the seat, peering through the rounded window frames to see Susan and Ahrima sitting on the porch bench. 

“… You’re not going to believe me.” Ahrima said. Jamie had to strain to hear them.

“After this year, I’m sure I’ll believe anything.” Susan replied. There was a silence, like Ahrima waited for her to continue. When she didn’t, he took a deep breath.

“Twenty years ago… I found out our neighbors across the street were… They were witches. Part of a coven.” He paused, maybe waiting for some kind of reaction. “I watched a few of their meetings. Through a window. Yes, I know it’s weird and creepy, but I was curious. I learned they were… they practiced black magic. There was a lot of evil in them. If they were good, I would have left them alone. But I feared them. And… well, I called some specialists to take care of them. 

“They were disbanded, leaving only one witch with any magic left. The others were stripped of their powers, but she… she found out I called those people in and cursed me.”

“You left because you were cursed?”

“No, I left because the curse was starting to effect my family, too.” 

Jamie and Sophie looked to one another. Sophie was questioning, Jamie shrugged. 

“It effected us? How?” 

“Well… my curse was… Susan, I’m plagued by these creatures. They’re so horrible, so terrifying… I’m glad you can’t see them. I don’t know why nobody can see them, but I’m glad only I can.”

“Are they here now?”

“Yes,” Ahrima replied. “They induce nightmares. Do you remember before I left? How you’d get night terrors? Then, Sophie would wake up, screaming and crying as well? The creatures were making them. They were feeding off of your fear. Jamie seemed safe because he was far enough from our room. The creatures wouldn’t reach him. But it was only a matter of time before they did.

“I’ve spent the last twenty years looking for a way to break this curse. I’m tired and want to sleep for more than an hour every night. I think I’ve found a way, but it seems dangerous. I don’t know if it will even work or if I’ll come back alive.”

“Ahrima…”

“These monsters… Fearlings. They talk about a king and…”

Fearlings. Fearlings. No, no… that wasn’t… that was… Jamie forgot about being angry. He scrambled to his feet to follow Jack who bolted for the door. Outside was cold. Susan and Ahrima stared at the breathless boys. 

“Fearlings?!” Jamie repeated. Ahrima furrowed his brow, not sure if his son was still mad or if he was going to laugh at him for his excuse. When he realized Jamie seemed knowledgable of the creature, he frowned.

“Fearlings. You said Fearlings, right?” Jack asked quickly.

“You’re the boy from earlier.” Ahrima realized.

“So… Pitch.” Jack threw the name out there. 

Ahrima was not familiar with it. He frowned. “What?”

“The Fearlings. They’re servants of Pitch Black. That means… Those witches… They had to be some sort of servants of his as well.” Jack’s hand was gripping the air, reaching for a staff that wasn’t there. “And the Fearlings. They’re following you. Are they here? Right now?”

“I—”

“ _Are they here?_ ”

“Y-Yes.” Ahrima hesitantly replied. “Yes. They’re always in my shadow.”

Jack pulled Ahrima to his feet, searching the shadow that melted into the darkness of the evening. “I can’t see them…”

“No one can.” Ahrima told him softly.

“Because we’re not afraid of them,” Jamie reminded Jack. “You won’t be able to see them anymore. Because you aren’t afraid of them. Like how I couldn’t see Pitch because he didn’t scare me.”

“What are you talking about?” Ahrima asked. 

“Their king.” Jack looked up to Ahrima. “The one you were talking about. The one they told you about. His name is Pitch Black. We sealed him away for good nineteen years ago.”

“You… you sealed him?” Ahrima looked between them incredulously. “But… you couldn’t have been… you were just children.”

“Well,  _I_  was.” Jamie frowned. “What do the Fearlings want you to do about their king?”

“They… they want me to free him.” 

“NO!” Jack and Jamie cried simultaneously. 

“He might be powerless,” Jack urged. “But he will gain power. It might be years from now. Long after we’re dead. But he will rise again if you release him. He will spread his nightmares across the globe. He’ll devour this world like he did so many.”

“How do you…?” 

Jack reached forward, seizing his hand. “Jack Frost. Nice to meet you.”

“Jack Frost.”

“One and only, former Guardian and Winter Spirit, at your service.”

“You don’t look like a winter spirit.” Ahrima raised an eyebrow. How could he had studied unicorns but not believe the boy in front of him was Jack Frost?

“Long story,” Jack waved it off. “But seriously. Don’t release him. I can help you find another way to fix this. I know a wizard and he could help. Or… or maybe Auntie Julie. She’s closer.”

Ahrima gave him a soft smile. “Auntie Julie. In Hewely Woods?” he shook his head. “She couldn’t help me.”

“Then Ombric!” Jack gulped. “He’s a wizard so old, he has to be able to help! He fought Pitch before. He can probably banish the Fearlings. Or one of the Guardians. They’ve all fought them before. There’s still options.”

Ahrima looked between Jack and Jamie. He gave a tiny smile with a tiny snort, ruffling his short hair in the same way Jamie did. “I’m not a fool, boys. I would never free the man that is their king. That would be horrible.” Ahrima sighed. “No. I found the witch that cursed me. After all this time. I’m going to confront her. Ask her to take it off of me. But… as I’ve said before, she’s evil. I don’t know what will happen.”

“… Dark magic… you know… you might not…” Jack doesn’t know Ahrima. He doesn’t know the man, but he is concerned for him, like the Guardian he is. Jack wants to protect, no matter who they are, what they did, or the cost. Jamie remembered, as a child, being told that he was a Guardian himself. He didn’t feel like one, not in that moment. He wanted to feel callous and not care that his father could potentially die from this endeavor. But, he did care. 

Especially now that he knew. He knew why his father left and it was to protect his family. He wanted to keep the bad dreams away from them, the nightmares that haunted him. He left so they wouldn’t be hurt because of what he did. 

He wanted to help his father.

Jamie felt like he was at a breaking point. He didn’t know what to feel. This man he hated, suddenly being brought into a new light. His former hero really  _was_  a hero. He saved his family from horror at his own expense. He made his nightmares come try by leaving his family, cutting all ties to stop himself from the temptation of returning. Ahrima did not have to say as much. The state he was in now was enough for Jamie. Jamie knew this man well, even if he had not seen him for twenty years, because Jamie  _was_  this man. If Jamie placed himself in Ahrima’s shoes, he was sure he would have done the same thing. 

His emotions were pulling him in all kinds of directions. He couldn’t let his father walk into a lion’s den. At the same time, he deserved it for leaving. Then again, it was for his family’s sake that he left in the first place.

It hurt. It hurt so much. He wanted Ahrima to be an asshole, deadbeat who just didn’t care. It would make it so much easier to hate him. It would have made it harder to care when he left. Why couldn’t Ahrima be that man? Why did he have to be so… so… good?

Jamie did have a strong sense of justice. He took a deep breath. “It might not be a good idea.” Jamie said softly. “We know people that can help.  _Jack_ knows people that can help.”

“It’s fine.” Ahrima replied with a bright smile that looked just like Sophie’s. Then… a terrible thought crossed his mind. What if Ahrima didn’t care whether or not he survived the ordeal? He was a haunted man. Living in a nightmare for twenty years. Even with the Fearlings gone, the terror would never leave. No amount of therapy could mend a mind so broken as a man’s who had been plagued for so long. What if Ahrima only saw one true way out. 

What if he wasn’t going to visit any witch?

What if he was saying goodbye?

Jamie had been trying so hard not to cry all night. With this realization, it was damn near impossible. Hot tears trickled down his cold cheeks before he could stop them. He stood firm, fists clenched, all the anger leaving his system. It wasn’t real, Jamie told himself. Just the darkest parts of his imagination running away. 

Ahrima frowned. “Jamie… Don’t… I…”

“You’re… you’re going to find her, right?” Jamie said, trying to steady his voice. The cold and the tears made his teeth chatter and his voice croak. 

A voice behind him almost made him jump. “And… if this witch breaks the curse….” Jamie turned to Sophie. “You can come home, right?” Sophie looked to Susan. “Can he please come home?”

Jamie tried his best to wipe his betraying tears. This whole situation… . He was trying to set his emotions right. He was supposed to be the one with the level head, damn it! He was supposed to know what to do! He was the adult who always took charge! And here he was, nearly broken in this situation. 

“Oh, Sophie…” Ahrima gave her a terribly sad look. “It’s not so easy. I’m sure your mother… she…” He turned to Susan, looking for her to say something. She hadn’t said a single word since the two were alone. 

Susan was flustered. She was never flustered. The man just walked back into their lives after so long and uprooted everything. They were all lost, except for the youngest Bennett. But one thing that was clear was that Ahrima knew he would not be accepted back. “We’ll… we’ll talk about it.”

— — —

Sophie had never seen her brother cry like he did that night. When he was a child, yes, but there hadn’t been tears for as long as she could remember. So, she was absolutely lost on how to handle it. She didn’t know if she should comfort him or not. Jack seemed just as lost as she was. Laura was the one to take him aside to calm him down and dry his eyes. She knew her brother hated the man that fathered them. She didn’t know why, until that night. He never talked about him. Sophie had limited information about him from her mother. 

She was with Ahrima for ten years. Married him within the first two. Had their first child in the third year. Susan still wore her wedding ring on a chain around her neck. A reminder of the man she loved so dearly. Sophie also knew that Susan refused to remarry. Perhaps in hope that Ahrima would return. And, although Sophie had never met him, she hoped he would come back as well.

Finally, things were calming down. It was getting late, but everyone was wide awake. Ahrima had finally been invited inside after talking outside for almost an hour. He told them of his attempts at breaking his curse. He told them how much he wanted to see them, it hurt. He admitted every once in a while, he’d drive by in hopes of seeing them. 

Ahrima was hesitantly, though properly introduced to Jack and Laura. He smiled, asked if Laura was Jamie’s wife. When he was corrected, he still beamed at the woman, telling her how lovely she was and Jamie was a lucky man. Jack vaguely told him that he wasn’t a winter spirit anymore, but did not go much past that. 

Sophie made hot cocoa to warm everyone up. The only one that didn’t seem effected by the cold was Jack. Of course. This came as a surprise to absolutely nobody. 

After Ahrima and Susan actually had a private discussion in the kitchen, Jamie stepped in. He sat with the man to talk to him, leaving Sophie to fidget on the couch with Jack, Laura, and Susan. She was going to talk with him next. She didn’t know what to say, where to start, and her anxiety was made it hard to breathe. She wondered if she even wanted to talk with him any more. (Of course, she did. She was just terrified.)

Jack was giving her suggestions, topic starters, that she was sure she would never actually use. She knew the moment she stepped into that kitchen, she would forget everything. Jack tried to calm her down. He did his best to brighten her mood, and he never failed. When Jamie walked into the living room after almost an hour, Sophie was giggling and trying to escape Jack’s hold. The sight of her brother made her stomach drop as she remembered the stranger that she wanted to talk to.

Sophie edged into the kitchen. She stiffly sat at the kitchen table, fidgeting. … She wasn’t alone. The man that she inherited everything from was tapping the table, an uneasy smile gracing his lips. He looked so old… older than her mother, although she had been told he was two years younger. Sophie assumed it was the Fearlings doing as she took a deep breath.

“I… um… wanted to meet you.” she muttered awkwardly. Yes, great start.

“Me, too,” Ahrima replied, a little stronger. “I know ‘I’m sorry’ isn’t good enough. But I truly am. It was… it was hard to ignore your mother when she wanted me to come back to meet you. She tried so hard… and I… I felt like it would be too much.” Ahrima rubbed his wrinkled forehead. “I cut all ties because I wanted to come back. I wanted to watch you grow up… but… I…”

Sophie understood. She did. With her shoulders curled forward and tense, she nodded. He didn’t have to continue. “I know…” Well, now she did.

“You’ve grown up so beautifully.” Sophie didn’t exactly want to agree, but she took the compliment with a thank you, brushing hair behind her ear. “I bet boys are clamoring for your attention.” he added awkwardly.

Sophie actually had to cover her mouth to muffle a laugh. HA! No! If boys noticed her at all, it was to tease her or bully her. If it was for any romantic reason, she hadn’t noticed. “Sorry, sorry,” she laughed. “No, no. Just one.”

“Ah,” Ahrima smiled genuinely. “Lucky boy.”

She wanted to tell him otherwise.  _Sophie_  was the lucky one. She was with a boy she was destined to never truly be with, no matter how much both might have wanted it. But here they were. It was a bit of heartbreak with a blessing. Jack gave up his life, and this was the result. 

“Um… so… you were involved in… that world, but you’ve never heard of the Guardians before?” Sophie asked, furrowing her brows. Ahrima shook his head. He explained that Jamie had told him who they were, what they did, and what they stood for. Ahrima told Sophie how proud he was of Jamie for writing about them. Jamie knew what he wanted to do and he was going for it. Her father then explained that what he chased after were usually creatures. Monsters and the like. Sometimes, he would come across an intellectual being, like fairies or witches. But none of them ever mentioned the Guardians.

Then, he turned the subject to her. He asked her about her art. He brought up how he had come across her online portfolio and almost didn’t believe it was _his_  daughter that created those beautiful works of art. He asked her how she got into it, how she was doing, what she was pursuing with it. 

Ahrima and Sophie lost track of time. He was learning about his daughter, and she was getting to know her father. It was a moment Sophie had wanted for so long. Yes, she did fine without a father. But questions always seemed to burn in her mind, and now there were more. What would life have been like with him? Would there have been any secrets about the Guardians growing up? Would she have led a normal, average life or would it have been even more fantastical? 

She never had a chance to love him. She never had a chance to judge what kind of person her father was. From how Jamie reacted towards him, she assumed he would have been this awful person, but then Susan would change that because she still smiled fondly when the subject was brought up.

There wasn’t nearly enough time to talk. Before they knew it, it was late. While the time was still pretty normal for Sophie to be up, her mother leaned on the door frame, looking wary and exhausted. The circles until Ahrima’s eyes had darkened and he would stifle yawns. Sophie continued to smile brightly, exited by her father’s tales and would jump at the chance to tell him about her own.

Susan’s smile was tired. Sophie shifted uncomfortably on the kitchen chair. She wished they had chosen a better place to talk. Her eyes turned to her mother who snorted.

“So, Ahrima, should we be expecting to see you sometime soon?” Susan asked.

“Please, Dad!” Sophie’s hand reached for his, gripping them tightly from across the table. “Please, please, please!”

She didn’t understand why Ahrima and Susan exchanged such uncertain glances. It was clear Ahrima was a good guy. That he had a good reason for leaving. What was the problem? It wasn’t like Sophie was expecting them to get back together. She just wanted to see him. She wanted him to be in her life regularly. Even if they were divorced, she could handle that (where they even technically divorced? Her mother never changed her last name. This whole thing was so confusing). 

Sophie just wanted a father. She’s had brothers all of her life, but she never had that male figure to teach her. She wanted some sense of normalcy. Her family life had never been normal, and growing up, that was something the bullies fed on. She knew it shouldn’t have effected her the way it did, but the pain of their harsh worlds would still linger, to this day. 

She just wanted a father so badly…. She wanted  _her_  father. 

“Sophie… why don’t you and Jamie go home? Jack fell asleep on the couch. I’ll sort the rest out with Ahrima.” Susan requested. Sophie opened her mouth to argue until she realized it wasn’t a suggestion. It was a request. Maybe even an order. She grudgingly stood up to hug her mother good bye. Then, turned to Ahrima. He stood up awkwardly, shuffling his feet. 

Sophie was brave, though. She rushed into him, hugging him tightly. She muttered hopes of seeing him again soon. His arms uncertainly wrapped around her. When she was released, she made her way back into the living room. 

Jamie stood up. His eyes were still red from crying (Sophie was still having a hard time accepting the fact that her brother  _cried_ ) as he crossed the room to her. He dropped his keys into her hands. “You take Jack home. I’m going to go home with Laura. Be careful, the roads are icy.”

“Okay,” Sophie nodded, closing her fingers around the keyring. Jamie kissed her forehead before walking out with Laura. He didn’t even say good bye to Ahrima. Sophie wished she had the courage to suggest that he do, but it left her when the front door closed behind him.

On the couch, Jack laid, lightly snoring. Sophie knelt beside him, shaking him awake. His golden brown eyes fluttered open as she smiled softly, letting him know it was time to go home. She wasn’t surprised he had fallen asleep. It was late and he had an opening shift that day. Jack forced himself to sit him. He laid his head on her shoulder, muttering about how exhausted he was. She stroked his hair as he woke himself up, letting him know he could sleep in the car.

As he stood up, shaking himself out, he pulled out a slip of paper from his pocket. 

“I gotta give this to your dad first,” he slurred. Sophie timidly followed Jack into the kitchen, where he set the paper down in front of Ahrima. The man gave him an odd look. Jack shrugged. “It’s my number. Call me if the witch isn’t of any help, okay? I know people who can be.”

Ahrima was hesitant. Susan’s expression was unreadable as he took the slip from Jack, thanking him. Sophie bid her parents good bye one last time, taking in Ahrima for what  _could_  be the last time she saw him. She hoped not. She offered a bright smile. 

Sophie had to walk Jack to the car. He stumbled, eyes still heavy with sleep. He dropped into the seat and she expected him to pass right out. He was quiet for most of the trip. She assumed he had fallen asleep until he spoke up.

“Sophie… you… you  _weren’t_  okay with growing up without a dad, were you?”

Sophie had to force herself not to frown as she shook her head. “No… I… I really wanted a dad.”

Jack sighed. “You did a pretty good job of fooling people. ‘Specially your mom and Jamie. Your mom told me once that you wanted to meet him. That is wasn’t like you wanted to beg him to come back into your life or anything. You… uh… kind of did tonight.”

Sophie smile dryly. “I know.” she replied. “I wouldn’t have… if he had been any different. But just… the way he was. Jamie and Mom told me different things about him. So, I had mixed ideas of him. But… you know… then I saw him tonight and learned why he left and just knew he was the kind of person that would have given me a good and happy childhood if he had been around. Not to say mine wasn’t already good and happy!” she amended, “Just… it would have been better. Perfect.”

She hated sounding ungrateful for what she had. She grew up in a way most children could only dream of. Having an older brother that cared for her like Jamie did and being best friends with Jack Frost?! Most kids only imagined. Hers was real.

But she wanted it. More than anything. For as long as she could remember, every birthday, she wished for her dad to come home. And now here he was. She really didn’t want to leave, but she had to. She spoke with the man that was around for about a year of her life and he absolutely adored her. He praised her, told her how wonderful and talented she was. He was excited to hear about her adventures and smiled brightly, despite the frown lines. 

He would have been a great dad. 

Though, it was perhaps a fantasy with great expectations. She didn’t care. It was nice to think about. 

Jack reached over and took her hand. “He’ll come back,” he assured her. 

And she believed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god. I'm so sorry this took so long to get out. I honestly have no idea how to write heavy scenes like this, so I tried my best. I was lost when I was trying to write Jamie's emotions since they're every-which-way. There were a lot of times I'd just stare at the screen, willing words to appear. Unfortunately, writing does not work in such fashion and god damn it, that sucks.
> 
> ANYWAY I forgot to include in the notes for the last chapter that Ahrima is a name taken from a musical! I was listening to Razia's Shadow by Forgive Durden when trying to come up for a name for Dad and was like... "Well... Ahrima kinda fits. The character are kinda alike. So, AHRIMA IT IS."
> 
> Also, another reason it's taken so long to churn out is that I got Bioshock 1 and 2. I beat the first game the other day (got the good ending I guess?). Working on Bioshock 2 now. I played Infinite before the others and well afjhskkdlks
> 
> I adore the Little Sisters lessthanthree They're so coot


	42. Chapter 42

The next week or so in their apartment was rather tense. Jack actually remembered to keep his phone on him and fully charged at all times, just waiting for a call from Ahrima. Nothing came, and the end of the month was nearing. Jack became just as anxious as the Bennett siblings, though they were anxious for other reasons.

Jamie wasn’t sure if he could just accept the man back into his life. There was a struggle. And Sophie really wanted him there. The two had gotten into several fights, and not just about Ahrima. It was about  _everything_. Everyone seemed to have underestimated Sophie’s vindictiveness when she responded by yelling at Jamie about his Daddy Issues and said he should probably get those straightened out before his child was born. 

They didn’t speak to each other for three days until Jack and Laura combined forces to make them apologize to each other. They did, rather grudgingly at first. It took a few more days for them to actually forgive each other. That was when things went back to normal, more or less. They were still anxious to hear word from Ahrima.

Jack knew December was a busy month. He found it hard to keep track of all of the going-ons. He was going to lose out on work around the holidays. They all were. So, they picked up more shifts, if they could to make sure they make rent (though Laura could pay for everything what with her fancy career and legitimate job) and to pay for gifts. There were a lot of gifts to get and Jack wishes he could still make them out of ice because it was free and easy.

The first party (of many) of the month was a surprise party. No, really, it was a surprise to Jack because he legitimately forgot it was his birthday. It wasn’t even supposed to be a surprise party. Not only did he forget their chosen birthdate was December 21, he forgot he was supposed to celebrate it in general. Three centuries with only one celebration would do that to a person. Not to mention everything on his mind from the hectic plans for the rest of the month.

His party had all of his friends there (he honestly didn’t have many that were in the age of double digits). Of course, HIccup, Rapunzel, and Merida. Flynn stopped by for the free food and booze. His boss, Lisa, was there with her husband and her seven year old daughter. Jack thought he could consider Lisa a friend, as she often invited him and his roommates over for dinner. Susan was there as well. Anna and Lily were there, too, with their little ones (Anna’s daughter and Lily’s brother). Lily had gotten over Jack after embarrassing herself by asking him out. He had to force her to even look at him after that, since she couldn’t bring herself to even be in the same room as him. Jack was kind, though. He made friends with Lily, then Anna, along with the children they tended to, Marley and Jason. They were there, too, playing with Merida’s brothers and Lisa’s daughter. Sophie and Rapunzel’s friend Adrian even made an appearance.

When he walked in the door, he was shocked so many people were there. He asked what the party was for and if he was missing something which elicited a few stares. Sophie kindly reminded him it was his birthday.

“Oh, uh… yeah. That birthday thing people celebrate every year.” He laughed until he realized…. He was twenty. He had been in his teen years for so long and now it felt weird. Yes, eighteen was considered adult, but still felt like it implied being a  _teen_ ager. Now he was twenty. The word felt foreign to him. Sophie was twenty-one. Jamie was twenty-seven. But Jack just felt like the age was wrong for him. He didn’t look or act like he was twenty, not by any means. Twenty felt like an age for adults. But Sophie had been in her twenties for two years and she still didn’t feel like an adult to him. So maybe being twenty was okay.

The next party wasn’t so much a party as it was a dinner.

It was a complete disaster. 

Jamie, Laura, Sophie, and Jack spent Christmas Eve day helping Susan clean the house from top to bottom. There was a litter of puppies making themselves comfortable in a fresh box Susan got for them to sleep in. Their little yaps and yips were making it hard to concentrate on a task. Jack really just wanted to play with them. They were so adorable. Lucy acted as the foster mother she was for all of the animal guests and kept them lazily entertained by nudging them or patting at them with her paw. 

That was probably the best part of the day (it was technically Christmas Day when they caught North later that night).

The Bennett’s relatives arrived around four. Carrey and Marco were the first with their children, Lina and Jerry. Jack and Laura stood back while the family greeted them. Lina and Jerry gave almost pleasant greetings with backhanded compliments to Jack and Laura. Jack, he could understand. He was an intruder by all means. But Laura? She was going to be part of the family with their cousin’s baby on the way. Jack couldn’t bite back his own retort for Laura’s defense. 

He was lucky Carrey and Marco didn’t hear it, but he was sure Lina might say something about it later. Possibly complain on the way home. Carrey and Marco were pleasant in a polite way. Like they were royalty, speaking kindly to peasants. Jack had seen this, so he knew what he was talking about. When they weren’t looking, Jack and Laura exchanged glances. Hers, worried. Jack, fuming. He had met these people only once. Don’t they ever want to make a good impression? He knew he did.

Eric and Ellen arrived later. Eric gave him one glance over with his eyebrows raised. “You’re still here?” Like he figured Jack had somewhere to go back to or he was still free loading. 

Jack swallowed his pride, feigning an apologetic look and nodded. “Yeah, well… my family’s gone.”

While it was technically true, It was hard to find a lot of heartbreak in a family he couldn’t remember. So, to act on it, he thought about how it actually  _hurt_  that he couldn’t remember that. Eric snorted, muttered something, then turned to Laura. He was actually somewhat nice to her, though he still kept the air of intimidation. She looked so small under his gaze. She kept her smile, expressed happiness to see him again. Jack envied her poker face. He hadn’t had much practice, but he’s trying his best. 

Before dinner, everyone sat in the living room to catch up. Carrey and Marco talked about Marco’s promotion and bonus and how they went on an extravagant trip through South America. To Jack, it seemed they only went to all the tourist locations, since they totally seemed to miss out on the plight people went through in certain countries. They talked about wonderful culture and yada yada Jack tuned them out. He’d seen the good and the bad and he didn’t need to hear about how glorious certain parts of the continent were. He’d seen it all and they were definitely exaggerating.

When Lina and Jerry pipped in, talking about their trip to New Zealand, it was shown that Eric did not favor any of his grandchildren. He told them to get jobs and stop mooching off of their parents money. They were going to school, yes, but they could at least get part-time jobs like their cousins. Even if Jamie should have a real job, especially with a kid on the way.

Jamie’s jaw tightened. “I do have a real job,” he shot back.

“Working at an office store?” Eric raised his eyebrow.

“No, writing.” Jamie’s fists clenched.

“Not a published one.” Eric frowned. “You should be a teacher or something with that English degree of yours.”

“I have plenty published.” Jamie was fuming. “I’ve got several short stories and articles out there. If you bothered to even—” Laura’s hand was on his, stopping him. Jamie took some deep breaths. “I’ve got a series in the works, too, thanks for asking. And, I guess this is the perfect time to tell everyone I’ve got a meeting after the New Year.”

Even Laura was surprised at this turn of events. Jack stared at Jamie curiously. A meeting. A meeting. That sounded important. Jack was trying to fit two and two together until Eric asked what the meeting was about.

“A company picked up my series.” Jamie replied casually, leaning back. If anybody knew Jamie like Jack did, they could see the glint of pride in his brown eyes. “We’re going to have a meeting to discuss publication.”

“You’re kidding.” Lina replied, trying to look unimpressed.

Sophie squealed before throwing herself at her brother. Jamie grinned as Susan jumped up to congratulate him. Laura punched his arm, asking why she didn’t tell him sooner that he got a call back. Jack beamed ear to ear, moving towards Jamie to clap him on the shoulder. He told his friend how proud he was. Ellen, the only decent relative they had as far as Jack was concerned, pulled Jamie into a hug.

The Carrey and Marco seemed interested enough. Though, it was Jerry that was the one to ask what the book was about. He was the only one that looked genuinely interested in what the book was going to be about. Jamie explained the premises to them, not telling too much. Eric chuckled humorlessly, making a comment about children’s books.

“I’m proud of you,” Ellen said, taking Jamie’s face in her hands. “So proud. I can’t wait to read them.”

Jamie, who was taking deep breaths, smiled at his grandmother, thanking her. At least someone in this family was good. Though, Jack was starting to think Jerry wasn’t that bad of a kid, either. He was actually interested in Jamie’s story. During the night, he would ask Jamie about his books when he thought Lina wasn’t paying attention. He tried not to look to excited about it, but Jack could see right through him. He was putting on a face for his sister, it seemed.

Soon after there was catching up, Susan, Ellen, and Carrey moved to the kitchen to cook the feast. It wasn’t long until Jamie and Laura went to assist them. Jack could see Jamie’s patience wearing thin. Jamie normally handled his family well, but it seemed this year was different. Jack only assumed it had something to do with Ahrima showing up and offsetting everything.

So, that left Marco with Eric and Sophie and Jack with Lina and Jerry. Lina asked if Sophie painted anything recently, though didn’t actually seem to care and was only half paying attention when Sophie pulled out her phone to show her some of her latest works. Jerry held up his camera to show her some of his photography work. The two went art geek on Lina and Jack. 

Lina turned to Jack, almost bored. “So, you don’t have a Facebook?”

“A what?” Jack heard the word before. Several times. It was all over the media and he knew it had something to do with the internet, but search him. He had no clue.

“… You’re kidding.”

“I barely know how to work my phone.” He held up his “simple” phone to emphasize his point. 

“What do you do when you’re bored?”

Jack shrugged. “Read. Sometimes I play Jamie’s video games. I like this one called Portal. It’s a little old, but it’s a puzzle game and—”

“Don’t care.” Lina huffed. Jack rolled his eyes. Wow. Why did she even ask, then? How old was she, thirteen? “So, you don’t go on the internet at all?”

“Uh… no.” Jack shook his head. “I prefer a good snowball fight to entertain myself. I like to go outside.”

Lina sighed, checking her phone. They sat in silence, Jack listened to Sophie timidly talk about the composition of a picture her cousin took, making slight critiques. Jerry nodded, taking in what she said. She did go to school for art, she would know what she was talking about. 

“Sophie,” Lina caught her attention. “You have a boyfriend?” She seemed slightly surprised as she held out her phone to show a white page with Sophie’s picture and some words Jack couldn’t make heads or tails of. 

Sophie’s face burned as she nodded, refusing to meet Jack’s gaze. 

“Who is he? You don’t have him linked.” Lina asked, looking back at her screen. “I bet it’s this guy, Adrian. He’s posting a lot of stuff on your Wall.”

“Adrian’s gay.” Sophie frowned. “And he doesn’t have a Facebook.”

“Twitter?”

“I don’t even have a Twitter.”

“Connecx?”

“No.”

“Oh, so a caveman.” Lina glanced from Sophie to Jack. “… Oh… my god. No. Uh-uh. No way.” Her eyes widened. “Really?”

Jack raised his eyebrows and glanced to Sophie. Her face was red, but she glared at her cousin. “It’s none of your business, okay?”

“Can we talk about this?” Lina demanded rather than asked. “How horrible an idea that this? Does Jamie know? Does Aunt Susan know? Oh, my God. Just…” her voice went low. “Don’t tell me you guys are sleeping together. You’re not, right?”

Well, they were sleeping together, but Jack felt like that wasn’t what she meant. They shared a bed sometimes, but… oh. She meant. Oh. He opened his mouth to vehemently tell her  _no_ , because Jack most certainly was not ready for that. He was still trying to tell himself it was okay to touch her breasts, he didn’t think he’d be able to go that far for a long time.

Before Jack could respond, Sophie slammed her hand on the floor, her gaze piercing. “It’s none of your god-damned business, Lina. I see you once a year—maybe twice—you don’t have to know anything about my life. You’re not entitled to it. We don’t talk, you don’t so much as send me a text once in a while. So, no, I’m not going to tell you if I’m seeing Jack or not. I’m not going to tell you what we do or not do because it’s  _not your business_.”

Jack was even shocked. Sophie never stood up for herself. She usually just let people talk down to her without so much as a word. Even if they were wrong, if she knew they were and could defend herself, she never made a sound. Sophie hated confrontation. So, seeing her so bold like this was something new. A side of her Jack had never seen before. And he was _proud_. God, his kids were making him so proud today.

Sophie stood up. Lina was in shock. It was clear Sophie always let the girl just walk all over her, so this turn of events was stunning. Jerry raised his eyebrows, turning away from the girls in an I’m-staying-out-of-this-you-can’t-make-me-say-anything-screw-you fashion.

Sophie stood up. “Come on, Jack. Let’s go make snow angels.”

She didn’t have to ask him twice. The two got dressed warmly before going out front to let off some steam. Sophie complained to him. He only grinning, telling her he was glad she was standing up for herself. She blushed a bit, telling him it was only because she was standing up for  _him_. She knew her family thought badly of him. That he was a free loader, a vagabond, someone who couldn’t be trusted because they wouldn’t understand the  _truth_. They didn’t deserve it, either. Well, maybe Ellen did. And sometimes, she thought Jerry might. Jerry was a brat, but he wasn’t as haughty as Lina. The girl needed to get off her high horse. 

They had a snowball fight, made snow angels, and built a snow fort until Jamie called them in to eat. They came back inside, red in the face, breathless, and shivering. Jack was grinning. Snow always had a way of making him smile. Over dinner, Jack and Sophie drank hot chocolate, with Ellen joking about them being like children. Jack made a comment about growing up being optional, which made Eric snort. 

Somewhere, in the back of Jack’s mind, he decided if he ever needed to tell the sob story of his imaginary parents from his imaginary home in Canada, he’d describe his father as Eric. If a man could strain a family home like Jack’s imaginary one, it would be a man like Eric. 

Dinner was made somewhat lighter when politics were brought up. There was nothing personal about politics since this family seemed to all be on the same side, with a few disagreements. Jack tuned out, deciding to turn to Jamie and Laura to talk about his books. Jack was really excited for him. Jamie admitted that North being the first novel really did help out and catch the attention of the publishers. And getting an editor really helped, too. 

Lina seemed to have gotten over Sophie’s defiance quickly. She talked to her in her kind-of-friendly voice, still high on her horse. She talked about the boys she met over the summer on her travels, how several wanted her hand, but she turned all of them down for obvious reasons. She insisted she was popular with the boys, as if that would make Sophie jealous. Sophie didn’t bat an eye. She told Lina how her friend, Rapunzel, often got asked out, too. The girl, though she wanted a love like the one Sophie and Jack had, refused. She was actually anxious about boys and falling in love. 

Sophie was fine being out of the spot light. 

Lina clearly was meant for it. Jack wondered if she should go into acting or be a news caster or something because she certainly loved attention.

Jerry cut in to show Sophie and Jamie his girlfriend and there was conversation all around about relationships, making Jack very uncomfortable. Sophie danced around the subject of the two of them which made it easier. Jack met Laura’s gaze. She felt it was weird, too. Good. He wasn’t the only one. 

Dessert, Jack fell under Eric’s scrutiny again. Maybe he had been acting too nervous. Or maybe too close to Sophie. The man asked about Jack’s family, if they had any contact. Jack shook his head, but let the man know he was legal here in the US. He passed around the Green Card he kept in his wallet, letting everyone take a look at it.

Eric wasn’t done yet. He asked Jack what he did, if he drove, if he was carrying his weight and not making his grandchildren do all the work. Jack assured him that he was holding it up with vehement agreements from Jamie and Sophie. Eric turned to Sophie.

“He’s not making you feel uncomfortable, is he?” the man asked.

 Sophie rubbed her forehead. “No, grandpa,” she said as if she’d been through this a million times. “If anything, I’m making  _him_ uncomfortable.” Jack almost choked on his drink. Did she really just say that?! With all eyes on her, she gave Jack a look as if it was the most obvious thing for her to say. “What? You’re going to be here every Christmas. No point in keeping it from them.” She turned to her grandfather. “Jack’s very,  _very_  old fashion. Like, 1700s ideals. He’s a good boy.”

There was a vien bulging in his scalp. Before he could open his mouth, Susan sighed heavily, rubbing her temples. “Dad, you’ve always had this problem. Don’t judge others until you walk a mile in their shoes. You’ve met Jack all of twice and I can tell you, he’s walked a million more miles than you have or ever will. He’s a good boy and I trust him with my children.”

“He could be coning you.”

“That would be an incredibly elaborate con, let me tell you. Besides, Mom’s met him quite a few more times than you have and she likes him.” Susan said, picking up empty dishes. “Jack, Sophie, would you help me?”

“Of course!” Jack jumped at the chance, instantly scooping up cups and utensils. This was very awkward. So very awkward. Ellen at least gave him a sympathetic look. She came over for dinner when Susan was holding it quite a few times. She had gotten to know his Canadian persona, like some of this friends (he didn’t tell everyone where he came from, they’d think he was nuts), and she really did think he was trustworthy. 

As Susan was packing away the leftovers, Jack and Sophie cleaned the dishes. Susan kept snickering. She couldn’t believe her daughter said that to Eric. “ _You_  make  _him_  uncomfortable! Oh my gosh, what has come over you? Have you been drinking?”

“Yes, but that’s beside the point,” Sophie’s face was red as she shrugged. “I… I’m just tired of being a punching bag, I guess. And someone has to defend Jack from Grandpa! And Lina. And it’s true! Right, Jack?”

Jack only reached over and turned up the music that was playing from the internet radio. “I’m not having this conversation!” he said just over the music. Susan and Sophie laughed. God. Now Lina was probably going to start something bad with Sophie. After Sophie insisting it was none of her business, then pretty much blasting that they were a thing over dessert. In the absolute worst way possible. Who knows what everyone was thinking.

As the three of them fell into conversation about something  _other_  than Sophie’s sudden boldness, they listened to Christmas music. Jack would loudly sing lyrics with his name in them before loudly wondering how he never had any believers when his name came up so often in Christmas music. He blamed that one movie that was called “Jack Frost” about a snowman possessed by a musician. Sophie had no idea what he was talking about, but Susan did. 

“When people think ‘Jack Frost,’ they think snowman or elf now! Not… well, what I used to be. Not that they believed I exist anyway. Not with your fancy science and weather forecasts.”

Then it came on. Their song.

_“Stars shining bright above you — Night breezes seem to whisper “I love you” — Birds singing in the sycamore trees — Dream a little dream of me…”_

Jack and Sophie shared a smile. Jack began to swing his hips, bumping hers in tandem with the tune. A few more beats and Jack took Sophie’s hand, leading her into the open space and away from their job. Susan didn’t say anything, but only chuckled when Jack lead her into a slow dance.

 _Dream a Little Dream of Me_  was their song. It was an unspoken agreement between them. Mostly because Jack sang it to her every chance he got. He wasn’t sure why he associated the song with her, even before he realized his feelings for her, but it did. It didn’t describe their relationship in the slightest. 

Jack was an excellent dancer. He never really had practice with a partner, but that changed when Sophie got old enough to stand on his toes. They practiced a little slow dancing, but she got bored of it easily. He would instead make it fun and silly for her. As she got older, they tried it a little more seriously. After the awkward stumbling and treading on toes, they managed to work out a waltz. Now, they weren’t half bad at it. There was a certain serene grace they danced. 

_“Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you — Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you — But in your dreams whatever they be — Dream a little dream of me_

_Yes, dream a little dream of me”_

Jack took Sophie’s face into his hands and kissed her forehead. She smiled, burrowing her face into his chest with a bright smile. Good, good. She needed it. 

“We still should get you singing lessons.” Jamie said from the doorway. Jack frowned and threw a dishtowel at him. Jamie feigned heartbreak. “But, Jack! You promised  _me_  a dance and serenade!”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Jack played along. “I saved you a dance.”

“And you better treat me like a princess.” Jamie fluttered his lashes.

When they sat for presents, Sophie made herself comfortable between Jack’s legs, back against his chest. That only caused stares from Carey, Lina, and Eric. Dirty looks from Lina and Eric. Gifts were passed around and opened. They were Lina disregarded most of her gifts. Jerry seemed grateful for them, though there was still a hint of disappointment. Jack always felt awkward receiving gifts. Jamie, Sophie, and Laura were extremely grateful for each gift. 

It was a few more painful hours before the family left. Jack overheard Jamie complaining to his mother about how Laura and Jack were treated that night. He was just as mad as he had been when Ahrima stood at the front door.

“They’re taking advantage of your hospitality, Mom. I swear, one of these days, I’m going to  _snap_!” Jamie fumed. “They shouldn’t act like that in  _your_ house! When we do nothing but treat them like civilized humans! Marco’s always showing off like a fucking peacock, the tool that he is, and your sister is…” He made a noise, probably to stop himself from saying something horrible about Carey. “I wonder how their kids would have handled growing up like we did.”

Not well, Jack imagined. He forced himself to turn away and tell Jamie the plan for that night later.

Yes, the meeting with North would be a much needed reprieve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot I never actually stated what Jack and Sophie's "song" was, though I mentioned they had one. So, obligatory cheesy dancing scene to said song.
> 
> Also, I kind of said how kind of horrible the family was before, but didn't really show it. I based some of the members off of my least favorite family members, mixing some traits with others. Also, trying to make them believably horrendous, while balancing Jerry out with one of those cousins you sometimes like because he's not half-bad. Also, you know, Jack and Sophie's relationship needed to be announced to them. And reactions. I didn't focus a lot on Carey and Marco 'cause Jack didn't. He's more concerned with the cousins that are closer to his age and Eric who hates his guts. XD


	43. Chapter 43

Jack woke up with an alarm buzzing. It was midnight, just enough time to get ready before leaving. It took him several minutes to actually wake up, though. Sophie groaned into his chest, not wanting to move either. But there was a party! Jack forced himself to get up from his nap and move into the bathroom to wash the sleep from his face. He heard Jamie knocking on Sophie's door to wake up Rapunzel and Merida. The man called to Hiccup on the couch. Everyone was waking up.

"Aye… these Immortals don't sleep, right?" Merida asked over a bowl of cereal. Jack nodded, sipping coffee. A drink he never would have in a million years think he would have grown to like. But too many early mornings for his job made it pretty impossible not to drink it on a daily basis. "Then why don't we go to them at a reasonable hour for us instead of the other way around?"

"Would you rather play in the middle of the night or the middle of the day?" Jack asked.

Merida huffed. "They could just come here," she muttered.

Jack chuckled. "You'll change your tune when you get there, promise."

After everyone was ready and awake, Jack stood in the living room, snow globe in hand. He glanced over his friends nervously. What if they couldn't see them? This would make the whole party a disaster. But they convinced them. They could see everyone in the picture. The only ones left out were Ombric, Katherine, and Nightlight. But Jamie did his darnedest to make sure they believed in them.

"North's Workshop." Jack said into the snowglobe before shaking it and tossing it into the room. He caught Rapunzel flinching, as if expecting it to shatter. He turned to his friends to watch their eyes grow wide at the sight of the portal and see the colors reflecting in their pupils. He smirked as he grabbed Sophie's hand, dashing into the portal. His heart was light, there was a skip to his step. He was more than excited to see his other family for the first time in a year. Maybe he should talk to them about holding more than one party a year.

They landed in the Globe Room. Their entrance brought rousing attention to them. North with his booming laughter, stepped up to welcome them. Jamie, Laura, Jack, Sophie, Hiccup, Merida, Rapunzel, and Toothless stepped forward. Jamie reached forward to heartily shake hands with the large Russian. Sophie squealed, running forward to greet Bunnymund. Jack, as always, had to pull Toothiana away from her work.

She stopped to stare at him, just like last year. Her large violet eyes took him in. He found it hard to read her expression.

"You have facial hair." she said, touching his face uncertainly.

"I know, right?" He grinning. He started getting a good scruff a few months ago. Jamie had to teach him to shave. "Don't I look like an adult?"

"Yes." she replied in a tone that sounded a little sad.

Jack had to stop himself from showing too much surprise. He actually did not expect that answer. He pulled himself together before she could catch his shock and smirked. "Next thing you know, I'll be like Jamie." he motioned to the man.

"I'll have to try not to blink." she said with a kind smile.

He had to stop himself from shaking himself out before turning back to the others to say his hellos. Once the family was reacquainted, he brought their three friends to the front to introduce them. North took a particular interest in Hiccup and Toothless, just as Jack predicted.

Of course, there was a shock when Sandman pointed out Laura. An infant in a womb took shape above his head as he advanced towards her to take both hands in his with a wide smile. Laura laughed, looking to the Guardians that seemed to find pregnancy an impossible concept. Jack wasn't surprised. It was almost the same way with him. When you're an Immortal, reproduction was pretty much impossible. Creation, yes. But it didn't work the same way as it did with humans. It was purely magic.

So, they marveled and congratulated Jamie and Laura. Jamie explained they probably wouldn't be participating in many the games this year, but they were perfectly fine just watching.

"Ah, no worries!" North clapped Jamie on the back. "Ombric will be sitting with you, I am sure. And you two have much to discuss, yes?"

Jamie's eyes lit up. "Right! Are they here yet?"

"They are on the way." Just as North spoke, a portal much like the ones North's snowglobes created opened near the fireplace. "Ah! Here they are!"

First to come through was a giant goose the size of a horse. It honked, running into the room, flapping it's wings. A boy with a mischievous grin flew after it. The strange part about him was that he seemed to be  _glowing_. Chasing them was a girl, no older than thirteen. "Kailash!" she called for the goose. "Please calm down!" Last, the oldest man Jack had ever seen stepped into the room calmly. The portal closed after him.

"They're quite excited to be here, North." the old man said as he walked up to the Russian. His accent was a strange one Jack had trouble pinpointing. Probably because the man was from Atlantis. "I hope you are ready for the noise they will bring. And, as always, Kailash is anxious being around the elves."

As if on que, just as the large goose was beginning to calm down, a tiny elf leapt onto her head. She honked, shaking herself before flying towards the globe. The spectral boy let out a silent laugh before flying after her.

The girl sighed, shaking herself out. "I should have left her with the children," she said in a Russian accent just as heavy as North's. "But she misses the yetis."

"And not me?" North held his arms out of her. The girl ran into them, embracing him tightly.

"Especially you, North!"

North laughed as he set her back down. Jack bit he lip, shifting from foot to foot. He hadn't seen Ombric in a long time. His ever failing memory had left if fuzzy. Was it twenty years ago? Fifty? He wished he could remember. He remembered talking about it when he recorded what he knew. He just forgot the date since then.

Jack approached the wizard. "Ombric." he made sure to wear his trademark smirk as he reached out his hand for him. "It's good to see you again."

The man studied him for a moment before smiling gently and shaking. "Yes, Jack Frost, my boy. It has been a while. Are you doing well?"

Jack could tell he was curious about his mortality. He was thankful he politely left it out. "Yeah. I've got some good friends to make sure of that." He turned to his friends. "That's Jamie, Sophie, and Laura. I live with them now. And that's Rapunzel, Hiccup, and Merida. And Hiccup's dragon, Toothless. Guys, this is Ombric."

They each greeted the wizard. Hiccup, Rapunzel, and Merida were still in utter shock. They didn't seem to quite know what to do with themselves. Jack even heard Merida muttering something in disbelief about all of this actually being real. Jack wasn't surprised. It was a lot to take in. It was strange coming from a human's perspective.

"Katherine, Nightlight, come meet everyone." Ombric requested.

The girl leapt from North's arms, rushing towards the wizard. She beamed at everyone. "Hello! I'm Katherine!"

Jack had read Jamie's notes. Him and Jamie exchanged confused glanced, but it was Jamie who said something. "Wait… you're Mother Goose?"

"Of course!" Katherine nodded as she rocked back on her heels.

"But… I thought you were supposed to be older." Jamie furrowed his brows.

"Yes, well, I was for a while." Katherine counted on her fingers, furrowing her brow. "About twenty years after I became an Immortal, I asked MiM to make me young again." She leaned forward, glancing to the spectral boy to make sure he was busy. He was still distracted by the nervous goose. "Nightlight is my best friend. I hated seeing him so lonely. Besides, being a grown up isn't much fun unless you're actually growing up!"

It was then that the boy managed to calm down Kailash, easing her back onto the ground. He walked up to them with a playful smile that Jack had seen so many times in the mirror. Somehow, Jack felt that he and this boy could be good friends. He waited for the boy to introduce himself, but it was Katherine who spoke.

"This is Nightlight." she said. "He doesn't talk much." Jack introduced himself, and was surprised when the boy's expression lit up, as well as his body. Nightlight was quick to take Jack's face in his hands and examine him closely. Katherine giggled. "MiM told him about you. And how you gave up Immortality and being a Guardian. It's never been heard of before, unless they're fading. Nightlight has taken a great interest in you."

This surprised Jack much less. It seemed now the Immortals actually were curious about him. Much less annoyed, now that he couldn't bother them (it was always an accident when he got on their bad sides, but they never could let it go). If fact, when any of them approached him, they spoke as if they were higher than him  _still_. There was Apollo, a Greek/Roman god of the sun, poetry, and archery that happened upon him a few weeks ago. He actually  _laughed_  at him and made a bad poem about him on the spot. It went something like:

_O, woe is Jack Frost_   
_The Guardian of Winter  
Sad, no more blizzards_

Jack told him it was a dumb haiku that didn't even have anything to do with nature and Apollo went off in a huff, muttering something about critics.

But Nightlight seemed more curious about the humanity thing. When he caught himself, he held out a hand that Jack shook. Then, the boy went around introducing his friends to the other. Nightlight lost interest in Jack as soon as he took note of the dragon that was now circling Kailash curiously. He certainly was an eternal child, Jack decided. He wanted to make good friends with the Guardian of the Moon. It shouldn't be too difficult.

It wasn't, as the proceeding games proved. They scaled ice walls, played with motorized toy boats, racing them across a small pond deep in North's caverns, went ice skating (where Ombric, Jamie, and Laura skipped out on so Jamie could speak with North), sledding down mountains, and finally, North brought out his latest invention.

It was a floating board. A hoverboard, much like one Jack recalled seeing in a movie… what was it…  _Back to the Future_! Jack hopped on, pushing himself forward, shouting out in glee.

"I'm Marty McFly!" Jack cried out.

"Who now?" North questioned; pretty much everyone was looking at him.

Were they serious? "You've never seen  _Back to the Future_?" The other looked at each other quizzically. He sighed in disbelief. "Seriously? 1985? That's the first movie. The second movie, Marty goes to 2015 and he breaks a hover scooter so it's like a skateboard and… really?"

"That was, like, a hundred years ago, Jack." Sophie said plainly.

"Nu-uh!" He cried defensively. "Just… forty-five years ago…."

"You mean… It's been thought of already?" North frowned.

"Looks like I win this round, North," Ombric chuckled.

"But, nobody has invented, yet, right?" North looked quite heartbroken he hadn't thought of this invention first. "Is only movie, right?"

"Yeah," Jack said, hoping it would cheer up his friend. "You're the first to actually pull it off."

There was clearly a small victory for North. But the fact still stood the invention wasn't quite original. Unlike the item Ombric brought in from Santoff Clausen. Ombric lead the group back to the Globe Room, where Jack had little time to notice a mirror that was no there before. It stood beside the fireplace, tall and new. It sat in an ornate frame, the lettering above was in a language Jack did not recognize.

A mirror, huh? Jack felt there was something very powerful about this particular reflective piece.

Ombric explained the lettering above was in Atlantian, since he was the last survivor of Atlantis. The children liked to hear about his home country and enjoyed the language, so they wanted to use it above the mirror. The words translated into something like "You are full of possibilities." Although, it was much more elaborate and much longer than it looked on the mirror. The true translation was "Possibilities of youth, future of tomorrow, show the world your wonder."

In the shortest terms possible, the mirror showed the viewer their potential. It seemed silly. How could a mirror show the potential? Jamaie recalled the Mirror of Erised from Harry Potter and how it showed what the heart's desires were. Ombric agreed it was something like that, but it didn't quite show happiness. It showed what they could do, how, if they put in enough effort, they could change the world.

Jamie went first. He stood before the glass. Jack only saw a reflection. But Jamie's eyes opened wide, his jaw growing slack. "There are kids… kids and adults everywhere and… they all… they all believe in you guys." He glanced around the room, then back to the glass. "It's like… a Golden Age. A snowball effect that started from my books…." Jamie's fists clenched. "But… I don't… I don't understand… how can I do that?  _Me?_  I just…" He stepped closer, pressing his hands on the glass. "There's no way I can do that. No possible way. I'm… Hey!"

Nightlight grabbed Jamie by the elbows, pulling him away. Jack furrowed his brows with concern and Jamie tried to move back in front of the mirror.

"Wait, just a sec, I want to see more. I want to know how I can do that—"

North set a hand on his shoulder. Jamie was  _desperate_  to get another look. North sat him down.

"Hm…" Ombric adjusted his cap. "The children never showed this effect. Of course, it doesn't tell you  _how_  you can achieve that much, it only shows you what you have the power to do. I suppose children see things slightly different than adults do… It seems quite dangerous to an adult."

Laura shifted uncomfortably. She took Jamie's hand, squeezing it tightly.

"Just one more look. Maybe I can figure it out…"

Laura shook her head. "No, Jamie…"

Sophie turned to the mirror warily. As she stepped forward, Bunnymund and Jack moved to stop her. She stood before the glass, then… smiled brightly. It caught Jack off guard.

"I'm… I'm a well known artist." she said, bouncing on her toes. "I've gotten over my anxiety and I'm married and have kids and I'm super famous." She laughed, stepping back. "Pfft! Like that could ever happen!"

Ombric stroked his beard. "I suppose temperament may be a factor in the danger level…"

"Oh, me next!" Rapunzel leapt forth. She squealed joyously, tugging at her long hair, as she tended to do when she was excited. She told about a life of adventure and traveling and seeing the world and selling art everywhere she went.

Merida tentatively stepped forward. What she saw that day, nobody would know. She refused to say. But she, too, had trouble pulling away from whatever she saw. Hiccup managed to calm her down.

He didn't take a look. And neither did Laura.

Jack suggested maybe the Guardians have a shot. But Ombric said they would only see a reflection. They've reached their potential and beyond. So, Jack stood before the mirror. He took a deep breath, wondering what he would see. Perhaps it would see Jack Frost, the Guardian. Only one way to find out.

What Jack saw was  _beyond_  Jack Frost. Before him stood a winter prince. A boy, slightly older looking than Jack Frost with pointed, elvish ears and ice circling behind his head, like a laurel wreath. His eyes were slightly upturned, making him look even more elvish. He wore regal, yet functional clothes that allowed him to play with the children. His reflection adjusted the cloak mantle around his shoulders and smirked playfully. He turned to the children in the park who called for him to come play. He knew he would never be invisible to a child again. He was just as believed-in as the other Guardians.

That could have been what he became.

And he let it slip by.

"Oh." was all he could muster to say. He stepped quietly away from the mirror, rubbing the back of his head. Sophie was the first to swoop in and hold his face. Her eyes searched for answers that he wasn't ready to give. Sophie gave a sigh, pressing her forehead against his, nuzzling his nose. If Sophie hadn't been there, Jack was sure he would have broke.

Jack had thought he reached his height when he became a Guardian. Things could have been better for everyone. More fun would have been spread, more light, more protection for the children. He was powerful, in that image. More powerful than he ever could have imagined he'd be. But, if he tried harder, done better,  _that_  would have been what he became.

Jack quickly kissed Sophie's nose before grinning as brightly as he could and turning around to the group. "Anyone else wanna give it a shot? It's pretty neat, I gotta say."

It seemed no one was buying it, but nobody wanted to ask what they were all thinking. It was like Merida. Whatever she saw, Jack knew it was far from what she expected, but possibly not in the way she wanted at this moment. Hiccup assured her it wasn't the future, only what she was capable of at it's most extreme.

Jack wasn't even capable of his potential anymore.

They moved on to the next activity. Jack did what he could to thoroughly distract himself from what he'd witnessed, thankfully with the help of Nightlight and Sophie. Jamie was able to with Katherine, who sat out to let him talk to her about her story. Jack was glad to see he was smiling.

Ombric decided the mirror should only be viewed by children from that point forward. It was quite unsettling for adults because they seemed to have a much shorter time to attempt achieving it than children. As a child, you could start working and planning on it and work hard. You have practically a lifetime to reach that potential.

Jack was right. It turned out, he and Nightlight were quite similar. They loved to pull pranks. They were just out to have fun. They pulled a trick on Bunnymund, knew just the right quirks a game needed to have more fun, and were quiet agile. Well, Nightlight was. Jack was still clumsy with his human body, getting used to not being able to flip or fly like he used to. But Nightlight helped him out.

It was nearly dinner time when Bunnymund pulled Jack aside.

"You and ankle-biter." was all Bunnymund had to say with that look he gave when it came to protecting Sophie. She was a special child for him, though he never quite explained why. Jack always assumed it was because they shared a love of Easter, but now… Bunnymund seemed quite like an over-protective brother or father. It actually kind of scared Jack.

"Um…" Jack raised his hands defensively. "Don't kill me, please."

"What do you think you're doin' with her?" Bunnymund scowled. "Exactly how long as this been goin' on?"

"Uh… I… um…" Jack looked towards the others, trying to eye someone for help. They were all distracted by a yeti who brought snacks. "It wasn't my idea, it was Cupid's." Jack blurted out.

"Cupid?" Bunnymund frowned. Jack nodded. "That no-good, bloody—"

"Bunny, calm down," Jack urged him. "It's okay. Seriously. She says she's happy, and the moment she tells me she's not, I'm backing down. I know I have no business… you know… but…." Jack rubbed his arm uncertainly. God, he was going to get an earful. "I… I love her. More than anything. You can yell at me all you want, but it's not going to change a damn thing. I plan to marry that girl someday, if she'll have me."

"But you're Jack—"

"I  _was_  Jack Frost." Jack pressed. It felt strange defending the situation. Normally, he would be very defensive of anything with Bunnymund, but he knew it was… he didn't want to say wrong. With the Guardians, though… it felt that way. It reminded him he was centuries old while she was only in her twenties. It reminded him his purpose was for the children, not wooing a girl. "I'm mortal now and I only realized I loved her after the fact. And it's only because Cupid told me."

"You mean made you," Bunnymund crossed his arms.

Jack sighed. "Bunny… She's the only girl that has seen me from the very beginning. I couldn't imagine loving a girl that hasn't. And Sophie's beautiful, kind, helpful, amazing—I could go on for hours. She's the only one for me, I think." He glanced to her. "If Cupid has other plans for her, I don't think I'd ever find anyone else."

"I never took you for a romantic, Frost."

Jack grinned uneasily. "Only when it comes to Sophie."

The Pooka sighed. He didn't like it, it was clearly written all over his face. "If you make one wrong move, if you hurt that girl—"

"I won't," Jack scowled. The very idea of Bunnymund implying that he would even… "I her Guardian, now. I promised myself I'd protect her. And Jamie, and Laura, and Rapunzel, and Merida, and Hiccup. I still have a sense of duty, Bunny. I haven't forgotten where I came from just yet."

He wondered if one day he would.

Over dinner, Jamie reminded Hiccup to show North his leg. Much to the Immortal's surprise, he took it off and handed it over to North. North's eyes widened with delight as he looked over the prosthetic. The Hiccup and North fell into conversation that left pretty much everyone but Ombric and Bunnymund confused. Rapunzel was translating for Sandman, who seemed delighted someone could understand him so easily. Merida and Laura spoke with Toothiana, who was explaining her work to a very interested Merida (she was very happy the Tooth Fairy wasn't actually a fairy princess). Jack and Sophie shared stories with Nightlight and Katherine.

Overall, today was the best day Jack had in a very long time. He had almost forgotten about what the mirror showed him. He had seen his family, made new friends, introduced new members of his family to old ones. Everyone was having a good time.

After they ate, they settled by the fireplace to digest. There was questions about Laura's pregnancy, Jack's year, Hiccup's leg and dragon, Rapunzel's hair. Jack insisted that maybe they should get together at least  _twice_  a year. As they discussed it, Toothiana and Sandy looked wary. They didn't like being away from their jobs too much. To them, a year would seem like a few days. Jack seemed to have forgotten that. The past two years have been so long. He missed them. And while he was sure they missed him, too, they had a job to do.

"It's alright," Jack said with his winning smile that seemed to have fooled them into believing him. "I'm glad you guys even have time once a year."

He was used to popping in to visit them whenever he felt like it. It was impossible, now, unless Jack stole a bazillion snowglobes from North (which he was certain North would not appreciate). He knew they loved him and cared for them, but they had important work to do.

As Sophie and Rapunzel started dozing, Jamie and Hiccup agreed perhaps it was time to go home. As they said their goodbyes, Jack stopped in front of North. He looked up to the man, frowning. There was one last thing he wanted to tell him.

"Keep a look out for any Fearlings." he instructed. North raised his eyebrows in shock and worry. Jack told the Russian about Ahrima and asked if North found him, to help him. He was a man that didn't deserve the punishment he received. And the Fearlings were always a bad omen. North promised he and the Guardians would keep watch for him.

Returning home left Jack more emotional than the last time. He was exhausted, worn, and leaving his family that made him so happy hurt more than he could say. Jamie carried Rapunzel into Sophie's room, where Merida joined her. Jack went straight for his room, Sophie on his heels. He felt empty. He felt like a disappointment. He felt like he was in the wrong.

It wasn't their fault, he told himself. He's the one that gave them up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PHEW! It took forever to get this out! I got sick, so I lost a lot of motivation to write. Then, I went on vacation and just. Wow.
> 
> And this was a chapter I wanted to write for a long time. Which made it more upsetting for me because, wow, why did I not wanna write it.
> 
> This was churned out over the course of two days, so please forgive my writing. I feel like this chapter was rushed. 'Cause it kinda was. =/


	44. Chapter 44

The New Year had rung in, the lot of them celebrating it in New York that year, much to Merida's insistence. Jamie had his meeting with a publishing company who were very excited to work with him. They promised a contract and after the editing process, they could talk about publishing. They'd thrown a celebration for him that his grandmother forced his grandfather to attend.

He was finally able to quit that god-forsaken office store.

January 20, 2031. Now, that was a special day for Jamie and Laura. Also, quite a hectic one. As Jack was leaving for work, Jamie ran around in a flurry, packing things in a duffle bag, going over a check list he made, and shouting at Sophie to get out of the shower, Laura needed to get in. Sophie shouted back that they weren't expected at the hospital until three o'clock and Laura had about five hours to shower. What he was in a rush for, even Laura was baffled. Laura sat on the couch, rolling her eyes and rubbing her large stomach that Jack always felt was about to burst at any moment, perhaps spewing out confetti along with the child inside. There would be little disks like the ones she brought home from the baby shower that said, "It's baby time!"

"Jack, you'll be there by four, right?" Jamie turned to his friend.

Jack laughed. "Of course. I wouldn't miss it. Even if I have to fight a mountain of toddlers to get there."

"Okay, you better, or I'm kicking you out." Jamie yelled as Jack left.

While Jack was excited for his friend, he really didn't want to be around him right now. The man was in his adult-mode, which was bossy and a little mean. Okay, a lot mean. Nobody wanted to be around Jamie when he was in adult-mode. God forbid anybody got in his way, he would trample them with an eloquent phrase of words or with his foot. Whichever made the most impact.

Jamie and Laura were scheduled for an induction. Their little bundle of joy was a week late as it was, so Jack didn't have time to request off for the birth date. Sophie begged a coworker to take her shift. She sat on the phone, near tears with him, explaining the situation. Jamie eventually took the phone and told the kid to show up because his sister was not missing her nephew's birth. The guy agreed. Jack wasn't so lucky. While he managed to convince Lana, the manager on for the day, to let him out early, he wouldn't be able to take the day off.

Man, that meant he had to take his car.

Jack had gotten his license. He also bought a car for about $500 and it was a worthless, beat up piece of junk. Hiccup ended up helping him out by fixing it up. Jack had to buy new parts and fluids and it all ended up being as much as the car, so in reality, he got a car that would get him from Point A to Point B for $1000. Jack still didn't like driving or being in a car in general. Unfortunately, that was the only way to get around.

He drove to work, which really only took five minutes. But he needed to go from work to the hospital and walking back wouldn't leave him any time. Jack didn't really show it around adult-mode Jamie, but he was actually really excited. Jack loved children. Jack never really had a chance to be around an  _infant_ , though. He was sure he did way back in the 1700s, with his little sister. But, did he remember it? Of course not. He wanted to hold a baby for the first time. He wanted to learn how to take care of it and feed it bottles and care for it and, yes, change it's diaper. He was also really excited to be  _living_  with said child. He really wanted to meet this baby.

Of course, Jack didn't exactly know what living with a baby entailed.

He was jittering from excitement. He was telling  _everyone_ how excited he was. Kids, coworkers, parents that came to pick up their kids. Rose was giving him a look of disdain, but Jack continued to tell her about his best friend's bundle of joy that was coming as if it were  _his_  kid that was about to be born. Rose advised him against offering to babysit.

Pssh. What did she know? Jack would be an  _awesome_  babysitter.

Work couldn't end soon enough. It was only five and a half hours, but it felt like much longer. Normally, work went by pretty quickly. After all, it was a job he loved and one that he had fun at every day. But, today, he just wanted to get out of there. When four o'clock rolled around, he rushed out the door, calling a farewell to June. The triplets tried to follow them, but he quickly turned them back around, ushering them into the playroom.

Jack drove with his fingers anxiously tapping the steering wheel and the GPS telling him which way to go. He knew where it was by air. But streets? Forget it. He wished he could tame his own dragon to fly. Or at least kept his command over the wind with his mortality. It would make life so much easier.

After searching for a parking spot for what felt like a million years, he called Sophie to find out where she was. Her annoyed tone made him smile. He walked into the waiting room, listening to her rant about how Jack didn't even need to rush to the hospital because Laura would be in labor for hours.

"She could be in labor for up to eight hours!" he heard her shout over the phone and across the room. "I don't know why Jamie demands we be here that whole time!"

There was chuckling among some of the other people sitting in the room. Jack stepped quietly behind her as she paced towards a window, still going on and on. From behind, he grabbed her waist, causing her to squeak and jump. She turned to him, glaring as she hung up the phone.

"We're going to be waiting foreverrrrrr!" She whined. "Let's go to the cafeteria and get food. I'm hungryyyyy."

As the two of them made their way to the cafeteria, Jack's phone went off. He wasn't surprised to hear Jamie asking (more like demanding) if he was there. When Jack assured him that he was in the hospital and was grabbing food with Sophie, Jamie seemed slightly more relieved. Jamie told Jack about the procedure to induce labor and told his friend of his concerns. There was a danger in it to the child and to Laura, but Laura kept promising him everything would be okay, so he believed it. Laura told him to stop worrying so much and Jamie laughed as the doctors asked if she had other children. She was surprisingly calm for a first-time mother. The woman felt as if she had done too much research (because of Jamie) to be surprised by any unforeseen event.

"'Yeah, I'm a little worried,' she said. 'I'm more worried about him being one of those ugly babies than anything else.' Geezus Christ, Jack. There's a whole number of things that can happen today and she's worried he's going to be  _ugly_?!"

"I think that's really what you should be worrying about, Jamie." Jack told him through a smirk. "I mean, that's the worst thing that could happen to him. He'll get picked on and teased for his life. Then, when he's forty, he'll make a million dollars and buy a trophy wife. You know, that might actually be the best thing for him."

"Jack, I'm being serious here!"

"Me, too."

"I'm going to go down there and beat you up."

As they ate, Sophie continued to complain about Jamie's overreaction. But Jack could tell she was nervous to. The way her eyes shifted, her nose scrunched, her brow creased. She took just a few bites of everything with several minutes between each bite. She barely ate, though she complained she was starving. She was trying so hard to hide it.

Jack reached across the table and took her hand, running his thumb across her knuckles. Sophie set down her fork as she squeezed his hand. Jack leaned across the table to kiss the back of her hand, a silent reassurance everything was going to be okay. It was just a baby after all. Laura was in good care. Jack had seen people in dirty huts give birth to healthy babies.

When they finished, Sophie led him to the maternity ward. Jamie sat on the edge of the bed Laura was sitting on. She was messing with her tablet that rested on her large belly, eyebrows slightly furrowed.

"Jamie, give me a few words with Q and U in them." she requested.

"Queen. Requiem. Quiet. Masquerade."

"Ah! Perfect! Thanks." she smirked as she typed in one of the words offered.

Jamie was tapping a pen on his knee. Patience wearing thin. Jack had only seen him a few hours ago, but he looked old. Like… like… Like a father. The fact that Jamie was about to be a  _father_  blew Jack away. They just went sledding yesterday. Jamie wore a toothy grin and was barely half Jack's height.

"Baby time yet?"

"Nope~" Laura chimed cheerfully. Her grin was bright with excitement. She didn't look tired at all. Not like Jamie. Laura was the one about to push out a child and she looked like a million bucks. Not like any of the expecting mothers he had ever seen. Jack couldn't help but admire that.

"Not for a while, the doctors said."

Laura told Jack about the day. Jamie's freak outs, how Jamie was pissed Susan wouldn't be here for another hour. Laura's parents were on their way, caught in traffic. Laura shook her head, laughing at how the doctors asked how many children she had. They were shocked this was her first one. She was just so calm about it. She showed very little nerves, especially compared to Jamie. She just knew what to expect.

"It's alright that our little boy is sleeping for a little while longer," Laura said with a soft smile as she rubbed her belly. "I was late, too, by almost three weeks." The woman laughed.

"Better than being premature, I suppose…" Jamie rubbed his temple.

"Well, you and Sophie turned out fine for premies." Laura shrugged. "Plus, you're smaller. I ended up being a chubby little baby. I'm sure you two were tiny little things."

Jack furrowed his brows. "'Premies?'" he repeated.

Jamie nodded. "Yeah. Sophie and I were born premature. I was about three weeks early and Sophie was a month and a half."

For as long as Jack had known these two, this information was new to him. Even though it wasn't quite something that effected the relationship, it was still an interesting thing to know about them. Laura did, though. But he was sure her and Jamie discussed a lot of pregnancy related topics when they found out about their own child. Jack usually liked to avoid those, since childbirth was never something he found particularly… fun.

At first, he was curious about it. It didn't more than fifty years for Jack Frost to put two and two together when it came to reproduction and humans. He sat in on a lecture or two about the biology of it all at a school (something he did more often than he would ever admit to a child that said they hated school). Jack always wondered why everyone said childbirth was a beautiful thing.

It hurt the mother, the baby came out looking like a mucus-covered alien, there's blood everywhere, tears flooding the room, a doctor's hands in a place women usually only allowed their partners to go near, and painful-looking instruments nearby. Childbirth was ugly. And after several hours, Jack was more than happy to stand outside of the room with Sophie and two of Laura's best friends (Katie and Michelle) while she gave birth. The two older women twittered with excitement as Sophie made a face whenever Laura's voice sounded, muffled, through the door.

"I dunno if I wanna have kids. Maybe we can just adopt." Sophie said with a grimace.

"Fine by me." Jack shrugged, folding his hands behind his back. He was completely find skipping any intimacies and watching Sophie in a position like that. Childbirth was ugly.

"Oh, honey, it's honestly not that bad." Katie said, beaming. "It's really an incredible experience. Yeah, it hurts, but once you hold that child in your arms, it's totally worth it."

"You're a mom?" Jack asked.

Katie nodded. "Four and two."

Jack turned to Michelle with a questioning expression. She nodded. "Just turned six."

They didn't seem to have changed Sophie's mind. She didn't find any solace in their assurances, but then again, she was only twenty-one. She had all the time in the world to decide, and whatever she wanted, Jack would give her. If they decided to adopt, that would be wonderful. If she wanted kids of her own, that was fine, too. Jack just wanted her to be happy. It was her body, she would do with it as she pleased.

It was a long time before the doctors left the room, Jamie in tow. He wiped sweat from his brow, a big grin on his face. The four of them crowded him. Katie and Michelle were quick to ask questions.

"Tyler Aaron Bennett. Seven point two ounces, eighteen point five inches. Healthy and feeding." Jamie stepped aside to let them in.

Jack turned to his friend and pulled him into a bro hug. "Congratulations, Jamie. I know you're going to be an amazing father."

Jamie smiled at his friend before pushing him inside. Sophie timidly stepped up to the bedside. Laura was drenched in sweat, hair matted to her face, tear tracks drying on her cheeks, face flushed red from strain, but God damn it she looked amazing. Something about her just… she was  _glowing_. Jack always found it strange that a woman seemed to look wonderful after giving birth. Hormones or something had to be a part of it. Like, "hey, they look terrible, but we're still going to make them beautiful because they just had a child and deserve it." And the pure happiness that radiated from her was effecting Jack all the way from the back of the room.

In her arms was a freshly washed baby, suckling her breast. Jack averted his gaze, listening to the women coo. Susan and Laura's parents were excited, chatting happily, saying how glad they were everything went well.

"Congratulations, Laura," Jack heard Sophie say. Jack glanced over to see Sophie kiss Laura's temple. There was a pause before she spoke softly. "He's so tiny."

"And he's cute, thank God," Laura laughed. "I'd have to switch him for someone else's baby if he wasn't." Jack honestly wasn't sure if the woman was joking or not.

"He looks like an old man." Sophie commented.

"They all look like that," Katie said. Her tone hinted she was slightly offended, but Laura only laughed.

"Well, at least he's an adorable little old man."

Sophie considered the infant. "Yeah," she nodded. "Yeah, he is. But, I mean, look at you. You're beautiful. Thank goodness Jamie's genes didn't mess him up too bad."

"Are you calling me ugly?" Jamie poked her from behind.

"Yes!" she cried out as she squirmed away from him.

"Well, I hope your kids look like me." Jamie poked her a few more times.

"Not gonna happen 'cause I'm adopting!" she blew a raspberry in his face.

"Jamie." There was a pause. Jack turned to them to see Laura holding out baby Tyler. Jamie gingerly took him from her, carefully sitting down on the bed with him. When Laura covered herself, Jack braved forward. He bent level with the child that Jamie caressed, thumb running over a dark tuff of hair. The infant had wrinkles and was flushed red, but laid contently in Jamie's arms, satisfied after eating for the first time. His face was round and there was a cute little nose. Jack knew his eyes wouldn't be opening right away, but it was safe to assume they were the murky gray most babies were born with before deciding on a color.

The look in Jamie's eyes when he first held his child was one that Jack would never forget. The man wore a gentle expression. A protective one. One that showed excitement for the life ahead of him. It made Jack's heart swell with joy and pride for the man. He was officially an adult. He had a career, a beautiful fiance, a son.

"He's beautiful, guys." Jack turned to Laura. "Congratulations."

"Thanks, Jack," Laura replied with a tired smile. "Hope your ready for babysitting."

"Of course I am." Jack blanched, as if offended.

No, he wasn't.

He thought he was before, but now seeing little Tyler… Holy crap, that boy looked so fragile, Jack was afraid to so much as touch him. The tiny little boy, in theory, should be easier to handle than thirty toddlers, but Jack would much sooner handle one hundred toddlers with his hands tied than watch over the infant for twenty minutes. So much could happen. He could cry, but he couldn't tell Jack what he wanted. Jack would be afraid to pick him up.

The child was passed around. It was difficult to take him away from Susan. She offered to take him home with her, since her life had become dull after her children left the nest. Jack could tell she kind of missed having her children home. A big house for a family of three to herself. Jack wasn't sure they should be living in the apartment anymore. Maybe he and Sophie can move back in with Susan.

Finally, Tyler was offered to Jack. Jack gulped, sat down in a chair, and held his arms open awkwardly for the baby. Jamie chuckled, adjusting his hold as he set Tyler in his arms. Jack was shocked by how weightless the infant seemed. He felt like he was holding up air. He supported the baby's head in the crook of his elbow, holding him close to his chest. It was awkward and difficult and babies most  _certainly_ not his thing, he realized. He hadn't held one since… since…

 _Possibly since she was a baby_ , Jack thought vaguely as he rocked him slightly.  _Over three hundred years… I would have been eight or so… I would have barely remembered it when I was human, I'm sure._ Human memories weren't very good at that age, he realized when he tried to bring up events from Jamie and Sophie's childhood when they were that age. Jamie didn't remember much other than the fight with Pitch. He even sometimes had trouble remembering his friend's named at that time. He almost forgot about Pippa, who moved when they were in sixth grade.

He wondered if his sister was like this when he held her. Quiet, sleeping, content to be held. He wondered if his tiny eight year old arms would have been able to even hold her. He imagined he might have had Jamie's body-type when he was eight and Jack would not have trusted eight year old Jamie with an infant at that age.

"Tyler, huh?" Jack said quietly. "You're gonna have an awesome time growing up. You're gonna have the most amazing parents, an awesome aunt, and most importantly, the best uncle ever. You're gonna be spoiled, kid."

Tyler's nose twitched. He sneezed, which came out like a tiny squeak. He heard Sophie coo, then cover her mouth as if she was shocked that even escaped her. Jack chuckled, patting Tyler on the bum like he'd seen Susan do. Jamie wiped a dribble of mucus from Tyler's nose with his blanket. Jack offered him back.

He had enough. He was going to be living with the kid.

Laura had fallen asleep with her father standing next to her, stroking her hair. Her mother held her hand. Both were so pleased with their daughter's work today. They were so proud. Jack was, too.

Jamie muttered to Tyler so low, Jack had to strain to hear, "At least one side of your family will be normal."

Jack frowned. Jamie would often go to visit Laura and her family often. He told Jack how he wished his family was more like hers. Everyone was rather supportive of everyone, grandparents and cousins alike. They were close knit and while they got into arguments sometimes, they were all rather pleasant with each other.

Laura's friends left cards and gifts by her bed before they left. Sophie yawned and asked Jamie if it was okay for her to go home. He consented, said her goodbyes, and left. Jack decided to stay for a little bit longer. Jamie sat beside him, holding Tyler (Jack had a feeling he was still trying to decide if this was real life or not), and told him about the delivery. He told him about his fears and how Laura almost ripped off his hand. His fingers were still sore and red. He didn't know if that much blood was normal or not. The nurse had to keep reassuring him that everything was going well and it was all normal. Laura wasn't really in pain, not with the epidural they gave her. The pressure was incredibly uncomfortable for her, though. There was a lot of relief after Tyler was finally out. His cry was music to Jamie's ears. Laura cried as she held him, practically sobbing. Jack smirked a little when Jamie said she had never looked more radiant. Good, it wasn't just Jack that thought so.

"So, think you'll be less cautious the next time around?" Jack was joking. He wasn't sure how many kids Jamie and Laura wanted.

But Jamie smirked, a look of complete honesty as he said, "It should be a cakewalk."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap, I actually almost forgot to write this chapter. I was going to move on to the next event then I was like "WAIT! JAMIE AND LAURA ARE HAVING A BABY! YOU CAn'T SKIP TO APRIL, KATE. U R DUMB."
> 
> This was pretty hard to write since it's not like... fiction. I did a lot of research, and I'm SURE I'm still inaccurate with the process of childbirth. I wouldn't know the skinny unless I had a kid, but, yeah. Well. Hope it's not too messed up. =x
> 
> I especially have trouble writing about someone who is inexperienced with children. Because I have had a lot of infant cousins. Taking care of infants is easy peasy for me. And I wanna write a whole chapter of it. Man, that's gonna be hard. =x
> 
> ALSO I'M REALLY SORRY IT TOOK ME 5EVA TO WRITE THIS. I'LL TRY AND GET THEM OUT FASTER AGAIN!


	45. Chapter 45

A squirming bundle was placed in his tiny arms and a frown crossed his face. This was not what he was expecting. His father’s strong arms wrapped around his small shoulders and patted him in a way that made him almost fall out of his seat on the porch. That would not have ended well for him or the…  _baby_  in his arms. 

“Jack, meet your little sister.” the man’s powerful voice resonated in his ears. He refused to look at his father. Instead, he decided pouting at the child would be much better. She couldn’t look at him with anger or disappointment. She could only coo and cry. She was bald and wrinkly and weird looking, like every baby he’d seen. 

“I wanted a baby brother.” he whined. Who was he going to play with? Certainly not a little girl. She wouldn’t want to play in the mud or climb trees or swing on ropes. She wouldn’t want to play dirty or wrestle or play Native Americans. She would want to sew and knit and cook and play family, like Mary. 

The man beside him sighed. “I know, but listen, son.” He turned his face from the man that got to his level. He didn’t want to look at his face. He didn’t want to see what he could possibly show. Anger. Disappointment. “You have a big responsibility now. She’s your little sister. You can’t let anything bad happen to her. You have to teach her. She’s going to look up to you.” The boy looked down at the sleeping infant, his expression unwillingly softening. He had to remember to scowl. “Give her someone she can be proud to call her big brother. Set an example for her. Alright, son?”

He pushed the cloth out of the way to get a proper look at her face. He  _supposed_  she was kind of cute. If you thought babies were cute or something. “I’ll  _try_.” 

The man clapped his hand on his back. “Good man, Jack.”

“So,” he struggled to hold her properly. It felt awkward to carry her and he was terrified he would drop her. The tiny thing was so fragile. But he wouldn’t show his father that. He had to be strong. He was a man. “What’s her name?”

“Jill.”

Jack took in a deep breath as he sat up, bringing air back into his lungs. What was that? Was that… was that a dream? Was it a memory? Jack scrambled out of his bed, falling. He ran out of his bedroom, suddenly having a huge surge of energy. He needed to tell someome. Anyone. 

"Laura!" Laura laid on the couch, Tyler in her arms, a movie on the television. She looked back at him, looking rather tired, but content. That was when Jack realized she was feeding her son. "AH! SORRY!" Jack quickly turned into the wall, embarrassed. 

“What are you freaking out about?” Jack whined slightly. She chuckled. “Jack, it’s okay, you know. Not like it’s something you haven’t seen before, I’m sure.”

"I know." He kept himself pressed against the wall. He didn’t want her to feel like he was invading her privacy. Although she had been home for a week and would feed openly (no matter who was in the room), Jack still felt uncomfortable.

"It’s natural, you don’t have to freak out about it." the woman chuckled. Jack slowly turned to her, still trying to catch his breath from the strange dream. The boy stepped once, twice… then rushed to her side, keeping his eyes on her face. Forget about being embarrassed. He needed to tell Laura about this dream!

“I remember, Laura!” Jack grabbed grabbed the blanket draped over  her legs and twisted them in his hands, his eyes widening. “I remember! I was a kid. I didn’t want a sister, I wanted a brother.” Jack jumped to his feet and clutched Laura’s hands. “ _Her name was Jill!_ “ Laura still looked lost. Didn’t she understand what he just told her? “My sister! Her name was Jill!”

Laura seemed to suddenly get it. Yes, yes! She got it! She reached for his arm and gripped it encouragingly, a beam stretching across her face. “That’s great, Jack!” she exclaimed. 

“I don’t know if it was a dream or a memory,” Jack said quickly. “But it felt  _so real_. My father was there. My father told me I had to take care of her. Jill! Laura, her name was Jill!” Jack laughed, bouncing on his knees. “I can’t believe this!”

Laura withdrew her hand, adjusting Tyler and chewing her lip thoughtfully before giving him a bright smile.

At this moment, he didn’t care if the dream was real or not. He was going to take it. A name. And that he didn’t want her. But in the end, he did so much for her. He gave his life for her. He yearned to know what made him change his mind about her. He wanted to know more about his father that seemed so strong and the sister that he clearly grew to love. 

"Well, looks like Tooth and Sandy finally came through." Laura said casually, pulling Tyler away and covering herself up. Jack stopped and stared at her questioningly. What did she just say? "Jamie talked to them at the Christmas party. He told them about how you were forgetting and how you didn’t seem to want to ask for help. I mean, Tooth would have been happy to give you your human memories, you know. But Jamie asked if they could help you out. It would be better than just having memories rush to you at random times, right? Imagine if you were driving!" she laughed, but Jack only sat on his heels in stunned silence. "Jamie said the fairies should seek out children that really need remembering, too, and bring good memories to their dreams. Tooth and Sandy should work together more often."

"Jamie… asked them to… help me remember?" Jack asked, dumbfounded.

"Well, yeah. At least the most important memories." Laura nodded. "I don’t think you’ll get all of it. But I know you’ll get the ones that shaped you as a human. Hopefully." Laura shrugged. "Tooth said she would try her best."

Jack couldn’t think of a way to respond to that.  _He was going to get his human memories back!_  Memories he never had. Only glimpses were brought back almost twenty years ago. Those were now recorded on Jamie’s computer and were still quiet vivid in his memory. If he were to lose any memories, he prayed so hard those wouldn’t be the ones he lost. He wanted to remember his family. He wanted to remember his sister. 

Before he realized what was happening, there was an infant in his arms. He sat on the ground comfortably to make sure he was holding Tyler correctly and securely as Laura stood up, readjusting her shirt, and shuffling to her and Jamie’s room. She must have finished feeding the boy and fixed herself as Jack lost himself in thought and excitement. 

The child in his arms squirmed, much like the girl in his dream did. Jill.  _Jill_. His sister’s name was Jill. He felt as if he were holding her again. He had held Tyler many times over the week that he had come home. He never actually got used to it. He still felt as if the baby was too fragile, too small to be held by anyone with rough hands or a rowdy nature like Jack. Tyler’s eyes were open. He made tiny noises, not powerful enough to be described as “talking.” His murky gray eyes couldn’t focus on anything, nor were they intending to. An infant’s entire being was feed me, hold me, make me comfortable. There wasn’t quite any learning or interaction yet. The most Jack could get out of him was having the child hold his finger in his tiny fist. 

Laura came back, setting a laptop on the trunk that served as a coffee table. There were scribbles on the canvas top from everyone that passed through their apartment. Laura asked Jack to pat Tyler’s back as she opened the computer. Jack pulled the boy up to his shoulder and carefully pat him on the back. He didn’t want to break him or hurt him. 

"You’re going to need to use more force, Jack. Or else he isn’t going to burp." Laura said without looking at him. Jack grimaced as he used a little bit more force in his pats. Tyler seemed okay. No crying or whining or grunts. After a minute, there was a tiny burp. 

"Here," Laura finally turned the computer to Jack. On the screen was the familiar recording program Jamie used to record Jack’s memories. Jack had finished a while ago. When he remembered something or felt he left out important details, he would ask Jamie to use it again. Jack would sit and listen to his own story some nights when he felt upset or when he realized he had forgotten another memory.

Jack wasn’t going to forget this. He handed Tyler to Laura who pat the boy’s back some more. As Jack opened his mouth to eagerly relive his dream, he grimaced when Tyler spit up on Laura’s shoulder. It seemed she knew better, as she kept a spit cloth there. 

As Jack relived his dream for the second time, in much deeper detail, he realized something. He remembered how his sister smelled (new baby smell was so strange), how soft her skin was, how uncomfortable the coat he was wearing was, the feel of the grain on the porch steps, every little detail… except his father. He never looked the man in the face. He recalled his voice. His voice was so clear, so powerful and strong and maybe a little gruff. But he didn’t so much as glance at the man. He didn’t see a hair color, a body shape, what he was wearing except for the brown slacks and long white cotton sleeves.  

Why didn’t his younger self look at his father? Yes, he was angry he didn’t get a little brother. Yes, he may have been a little ashamed he wasn’t showing any joy for having a new sibling at all. But he could have at least glanced at the man. 

"I was a little shit when I was a kid." Jack said with realization. 

Laura couldn’t help but laugh. “Certainly sounds like nothing’s changed since then.”

Jack smiled. He appreciated her humor and he had to agree, but now that he knew what happened to him… “I didn’t even look at him… I probably barely thought of him when I was human. I know what my mother looks like… sort of. I saw her a few times because of my tooth box. But, God, I didn’t even have a glance at my father. I don’t think… I don’t think I appreciated him enough as a human.”

"Jack," Laura reached over and took his hand. "You’ve had two visions so far. Don’t jump to conclusions, okay?  I’ll agree that you were a little shit. And still are. But I don’t think that was the case with your father. And you shouldn’t either. Not yet." She released his hand and rubbed his upper arm. "Not until you’ve seen more."

Jack nodded. “Okay.” he conceded. She was right, though. She made such a good point. He only had two visions. He hoped he would see more of his parents. More of his sister. Jill. 

 _Jill_.

He couldn’t wait to tell Jamie and Sophie. 

When Jamie finally came home, Jamie’s only response was, “So, you guys were Jack and Jill Overland?”

"…"

"That is hilarious." he said with a shit-eating grin.

"That’s it?!"

"Well, I’m sure there’s a nursery rhyme pun in that somewhere."

"I remember the day my sister was born, and that’s all you can say?!"

"No wonder you’re messed up. You cracked your skull. I hope Jill was okay."

Sophie was much more supportive. She gave him a back rub as he told his story. When he was finished, she kissed his cheek and made him cupcakes to celebrate. When Jamie tried to snatch one, Jack smashed it into his face. Sophie scowled at Jamie, keeping the plate of cupcakes out of reach. Most of them ended up on the floor rather than in anyone’s stomach, which Jack didn’t mind. There was a lot of fun between the four of them. The apartment was never boring. Now, with the fifth addition, it was also much louder much more often. 

As they all got on their knees to clean up, broad smiles and giggles on their lips, Laura sat in the chair with Tyler, watching them.

"I didn’t even get a cupcake, Jamie."

"Me neither," he huffed.

"Of course you did. It’s all over your face."

"I’ll make you Nutella and Banana muffins in the morning, baby."

"I love you, Jamie."

"I love you more."

Over the next few days, Jack dreamt of his human life. There weren’t any profound memories. Just games with a girl named Mary and a boy named Matthew (other villagers and possibly his friends?) Chopping down his first tree. Gathering water from a well. 

Nothing about his parents. Nothing about Jill. How were these memories important?

It was a Thursday night when Jamie and Laura stood at the door, dressed up fancy, giving Jack assuring smiles. 

"You sure you’re okay, Jack?" Jamie asked.

"Yeah… yeah…." Jack glanced back into the quiet apartment. "He’ll sleep through the night, right?"

"Yes," Laura nodded, adjusting her coat. "And if he wakes up, give him a bottle and he should fall right back to sleep."

"If you have a problem, call us. Well, call Laura." Jamie instructed Jack. 

The two of them were going to have dinner with the editor and his wife. Sophie was working until close (2 am). Leaving Jack to babysit. His first time babysitting Tyler. Being alone with Tyler. 

They left. Jack sat, fidgeting, on the couch. He was nervous too turn on the television in fear the sound would wake the baby. The child slept through a dragon being brought into the apartment, which usually is a loud ordeal. He’s slept through one of Merida and Hiccup’s arguments which were always pretty obnoxious (Jack was amazed how they would walk away from those without being angry at each other). Tyler was a heavy sleeper, which Laura praised. She felt so blessed with a well behaved child and hoped her next one would be just as good. 

So, Jack picked up Jamie’s e-Reader to continue the story the man told him read. A story about a condition that prevents people from either telling a lie or telling the truth. For the next hour, Jack relaxed, confident that Tyler would stay asleep. He picked apart the dialogue, trying to decide who was a liar and who was not. He made notes on the trunk with Sharpie, knowing it would be covered up sooner or later. 

It was around 9:30 when it happened. The silent apartment stirred. Jack froze with one hand on the trunk, the other highlighting the line so he kept his place. There was a whine. Okay, Jack. Calm down. Tyler might be whining in his sleep. He did that sometimes. Then… a cry. A weak, soft cry carried through the open door to Jamie and Laura’s room. The cry only got louder. Even though his voice wasn’t strong enough to hurt Jack’s ears by any means, the boy still winced. 

He flipped off of the couch and scrambled into the room. 

"Shh, shh, I’m here! I’m here!" he said just over the cries. Jack rushed to the cradle and leaned over the crying infant, a glimmer of hope asked that Tyler would quiet down just in Jack’s presence. Well, clearly that failed. What he wouldn’t give to have power over  _fun_ again. Jack gingerly lifted Tyler from his place in the cradle and held him close. He hushed the child as he pat his bottom. 

"Okay, okay, what’s wrong? Are you wet?" He checked the diaper and lifted him to smell. "Nope. How about hungry?" Jack asked as he walked into the kitchen, Tyler still wailing in his ear. Oh, thank goodness his lungs weren’t powerful enough to scream. Jack put the already-made bottle in the microwave and set it to thirty seconds. It was the longest thirty seconds of Jack’s life. Tyler’s toothless mouth was opened wide, nothing but cries escaping. Jack almost put his forefinger into his mouth like Jamie did to sate him until the bottle was done until he remembered there was Sharpie all over his hands. 

"Shh, shh, almost done…" 

When the timer reached 0:02, Jack pulled opened the door, not even bothering for it to finish. He maneuvered with the child in his arms to twist the bottle top on and test the temperature. Jack whined when the milk came out too hot. He wet a paper towel, wrapped it around the bottle, and stuck it in the freezer Maybe a few minutes in there will cool it down enough…

Jack frowned, holding the wailing child out at arms length. He made funny faces. Nope. Did absolutely nothing. Tyler was uninterested in funny faces, apparently. Jack turned towards the ceiling, praying for help. “Sandyyyyy… can you put him out? Pleaaaaase?” 

Jack knew Sandy would never hear him. It was wishful thinking. Jack checked the bottle every ten seconds, which meant it was never quite in the freezer long enough for it to actually chill. When it was finally cool enough, Jack breathed a sigh of relief. He pressed the teat to Tyler’s lips. Jack squirted a bit of milk on Tyler’s tongue to show him it was time to eat. Tyler took it and quieted down. Jack heaved a sigh of relief. The child was growing heavy in his arms. Jack took a seat at the kitchen table, rubbing his face with his elbow. Thank goodness…

Then… Tyler’s tiny face pulled into a grimace. He whimpered. He whined. He turned away from the bottle and began to cry again. 

"What?! What?! Tyler!" 

Clearly, the bottle was not what he wanted. 

Jack leaned over the child to dropped his head onto the kitchen table with a  _THUNK_ _. Thunk. Thunk. THUNK._

"Do you need a song?" Jack asked wearily. Laura hummed or sang to him sometimes. Maybe that would put him out. Jack heaved himself to his feet, adjusted Tyler in his arms, and moved to the living room. Jack rocked him gently, humming a tune. 

He never sang a lullaby before. He tended to listen to upbeat music. Something he could belt at the top of his lungs or dance to. He bit his lip, trying to recall a soft song. One the child might find soothing. 

It hit him.

“ _Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up high_  
 _There’s a land that I heard of once in a lullaby…_ ”

Jack sang as softly as he could. It was a gentle, kind tone. He knew he was no singer, but he had to try. Tyler sniffled and cried and Jack sang just above his tone. Just enough so Tyler could hear him over his own cries.

_"Someday I’ll wish upon a star  
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me.”_

Tyler’s cries fell into whimpers.

_"Where troubles melt like lemon drops_   
_Away above the chimney tops_   
_That’s where you’ll find me.”_

Finally, he was calming down.

Tyler’s cries softened to sniffles. The soothing song was just what he needed. 

Babies are difficult, Jack decided. 

He couldn’t wait to have one of his own someday.


	46. Chapter 46

Jack Frost sat up slowly. Shock stiffened his limbs, his eyes were wider than he ever thought possible. That dream… please let it have been a dream. No, no… it felt too real, too vivid, to detailed. He definitely lived that dream. There was no way it wasn’t a memory. But, Lord knows he wished it was a dream.

There was a tug on his shit. Jack jumped, momentarily forgetting the company that shared his bed. Sophie whined, tugging on his shirt. “Snuggles. Sleep.” 

"I was married."

The girl sat up just as he had. Suddenly wide awake, Sophie gaped, jaw dropped towards the sheets. “…What?”

"Well… kind of. I was going to be married. Engaged. Yeah."

There was a girl. Mary. She was a gentle girl with a pretty, heart-shaped face. She had strawberry-blonde curly hair, sky-blue eyes, soft pink lips, and a light dash of freckles across her nose. She would smile kindly to him, she was sweet to everyone, she saw the good in all.

She was sixteen when he was eighteen. Jack and Mary grew up together and were rather close. Their fathers were best friends, so their families were close. He was the son of a shepherd, wanting to work with his father and the sheep. Her father was a shoe maker. She wanted to become a school teacher.

Her father was the one that approached him. Mary’s father was a meek man. He had strong arms and rough hands, like most men in his village. He asked Jack what he thought of Mary. He said Mary was ready to be wed and was quite fond of Jack. Marriage was the last thing on Jack’s mind at the time. The idea terrified him. He still felt like a child, not ready to grow up. Marriage was so… adult. But how could he turn down Mary’s father?

Jack agreed. Their father’s got together to discuss dowry. They agreed on one hundred gold pieces. They also agreed Mary was worth much more, but they knew what the other could afford. They would not bankrupt the other.

Mary… she looked so happy. So excited. She smiled brightly to Jack as she took his hand. She knew her husband would be someone she could trust. Jack knew she was safe. She didn’t mind his child-like behavior, but instead found it endearing. 

"How about Spring?"

"What?"

"Let’s get married in the Spring… it gives me time to make my dress. Plus… I love the flowers."

Jack smiled and agreed. It was good. She reminded him of Spring.

Jill seemed less excited. She refused to tell Jack exactly why. She didn’t talk to him for weeks. Jack would come home, exhausted from building the cabin that he and Mary would share in the Spring only to find Jill glaring at him and pouting. It wasn’t fair. He would have loved to have played with her and the children after a day of building, but she wouldn’t let him. 

It wasn’t until one day, late in winter that Jill finally confessed why she was so angry at him.

"Jill… can you just talk to me?"

"Hmph."

"I thought you liked Mary."

"It’s not that."

"Then can you please tell me why?" he begged as he poked and prodded her ticklish spots. She tried to hide her smile and hold back laughs as she squirmed.

"You’re going to forget about me."

Jack frowned, not understanding. “What? Jill, you know I’d never forget about you. You’re my favorite and you know it.”

"But… what about when you and Mary have kids?" Jill finally turned to him, her eyes welling with tears that shone in the candle-light. Ah…. "You’ll leave me behind."

Jack smiled gently, pulling Jill into his arms. “I’d never forget about you,” he promised, running his fingers over her ribs. She let out a shrill laugh. “You’re too annoying to forget.”

"Jack, stop!"

"You always need my attention, you’d be totally useless without me, you always need your big brother to save you from the dumb boys, you need me to help with your homework, I don’t know what you’d do without me."

He stopped tickling her and she looked up to him, grinning brightly. “I can come visit anytime I want, right?”

"Every day if you want to."

"Am I still gonna be your favorite when you have kids?"

"I can have more than one favorite, you know."

"You’re still gonna play with all of us, right?"

"Not like marriage is going to change me, Jill." Jack rolled his eyes.

Jill twisted and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. He embraced her warmly. “How about I take the day off tomorrow. We’ll go ice skating one last time before the season ends.”

"Is Mary coming?"

"Uh-uh. It’s just you and me, brat."

Jill flexed her arms to tighten her embrace. “Okay.”

Jack never got the chance to finish building his cabin. He never got the chance to wed Mary or have children of his own. He wondered what happened to her… if she became a school teacher and if she married another. He would never know. But… he did wish that she had a happy life. 

"Did you… did you love her?" Sophie chewed her lip.

The question made Jack think. He had to consider the memory. “I cared about her… I remember… I really did care about her. I loved her but… It wasn’t the same kind of love you and me have.” Jack decided. “It’s like how I love Rapunzel and Merida.”

"You were going to marry a girl you didn’t love?"

"Well… it was a different time, Sophie." Jack sighed, drawing his knees up. "Back then, you didn’t really marry for love. We were marrying because our parents thought we’d be a good match. And, well, we didn’t hate each other. We were lucky with that one… I think we would have been happy together. We grew up together, we played, we learned… we were best friends. Kind of… As I got older, I became more preoccupied with the kids in the village."

"… Are you sad?"

Jack shook his head. “Not really… I just… hope she had a happy life.” He turned to her, nuzzling her neck. “I’m happy right here. I’m right where I’m supposed to be. And… I’ll actually marry a girl I love.”

He felt her muscle form into a broad grin. “Want to record this one?”

"Hm… later."

That was Jack’s response for whenever he deemed a memory as unimportant. If it was something big, he would want to record it right away so he wouldn’t forget any detail. But this one… it wasn’t important. He didn’t need to remember the little details. Sure, Mary’s face would forever be imprinted in his memory. But… this memory had Jill in it as well. It was their last night together. 

He wouldn’t forget that.

So, the two went back to sleep. In the morning, Jack recorded with Jamie who didn’t seem that surprised. He was wondering why Jack wasn’t married when he died. He seemed rather old for a bachelor. 

That day, they were expecting Hiccup and Rapunzel to come over. Hiccup got their first with Toothless. Of course, there was always the big to-do with getting the dragon into the apartment. 

"Apparently, Jack was engaged." Laura told Hiccup with an amused smile. 

"Oh, really?" Hiccup snorted, brushing his auburn hair out of his eyes. "Is Sophie mad?"

"Shockingly, no," Sophie replied.

As Hiccup opened his mouth to reply, his phone went off. He pulled out the smart phone, furrowing his brow as he answered. “Rapunzel?” he greeted. “Yeah, I’m already here. Okay.” He pulled the phone away from his ear and hit the speakerphone button. “Shoot.”

"Sophie?"

"Yes~?" Sophie sang.

"Is it okay if I bring my cousins? They’re visiting and I think they’d like the company."

"Of course."

"Hiccup?"

"Yes?" he replied.

"Did you bring Toothless?"

"Yes…" he sighed.

"They’re, um… I’m sorry."

"It’s okay…" Hiccup groaned. "We just got hereeeee."

"We’ll be there in fifteen. I’m sorry."

"Bye, Rapunzel." Hiccup hung up, turning to Toothless. "Sorry, buddy. You gotta go home."

Now, everyone groaned. They each played a part in getting Toothless out of the apartment, and just in time. Rapunzel was walking to up the door with two girls in tow. One that looked around eighteen with red hair in two braids with a shock of white streaked, the other about twenty with platinum blonde hair, braided down the back with her bangs pushed back. The younger reminded Jack of Rapunzel. Jumpy, excited about everything, smiling brightly as she chattered with her cousin. The other looked on, with a small but warm smile. She followed slightly behind. Jack wasn’t sure if it was by choice or whether her sister was taking Rapunzel’s attention. 

"Ah, Sophie!" Rapunzel ran up to the girl, leaping into her arms. She turned to her cousins. "Elsa, Anna, this is Sophie. She’s my bestest friend. That’s her boyfriend, Jack. Her brother, Jamie, his wife—"

"Fiancee." Jamie corrected.

"Same difference—Laura. And that’s Hiccup. No Merida today?"

"Work." Hiccup shrugged. 

"His girlfriend," Rapunzel explained to her cousins. "Guys, this is Elsa and Anna." the blonde linked arms with her cousins, bringing them forward. "My cousins. They’re from Canada."

"Canada?" Hiccup blinked. "Where from?"

"Toronto." Anna, the red-head, replied. "We’re staying with Rapunzel for a while." There was a pause, as if an explanation was in the air, but just not spoken. Anna looked uneasily between Rapunzel and Elsa. Neither said anything.

"Well, come in." Laura motioned towards the door. "Try not to be too loud."

"Tyler sleeping?" Rapunzel asked.

"No, but he’s pretty cranky." Laura shrugged, leading the way upstairs.

"Baby?" Elsa asked.

"Yep. Had to help Hiccup with something, so I left him alone for a whole two minutes." Laura smiled. "So irresponsible."

"Wait!" Rapunzel stopped on the second floor to knock on the door. "Flynn!!" She didn’t stop knocking. "Flynn Riderrrrrr!"

The door opened to a rather annoyed man. “What can I do for you, blondie?”

"Come upstairs with us." she demanded rather than requested.

"I don’t know, I…" 

"Punzie! Is this your boyfriend?" Anna grabbed Rapunzel’s arm, looking between her and Flynn. 

"Oh, great." Flynn’s expression went deadpan. "There’s two of you."

"Rather tactless, Anna." Elsa snorted.

"Correction, three."

"Come on, Flynn."

"Rapunzel, I—"

"Eugene." Rapunzel’s hands went to her hips as she scowled.

What? Uh… oh. Uh. What? Who was Eugene? … Apparently it was Flynn. Jamie snickered, Flynn ran a hand down his face, frustrated. He grabbed his key and locked his door, motioning for Rapunzel to walk. 

"Eugene?" Sophie frowned. 

"You told her?" Jamie laughed.

"Shut up, Bennett."

"Which one?" Jack asked.

"Both."

In the apartment, Rapunzel was happy to get to hold Tyler. She cooed and made faces as her cousins we welcomed to sit on the couch. Sophie handed them a pack of Sharpies, telling them to draw on the trunk that served as a coffee table. The trunk was wood with white canvas that everyone drew on. If you came into the apartment, you had to put  _something_  on it. Writing, drawing, names, whatever. Anna jumped at the chance, giggling as she drew a little cartoony snowman. Elsa tapped the marker on her knee, thinking. She bit her lip, and nodded as she decided. Jack watched as she leaned over the trunk to the snowflake Jack drew. His was simple and crude. She drew a smaller, more detailed one. It looked exactly like one of the many beautiful snowflakes that Jack had made. 

"I’m guessing you like snow?" Jack asked, sitting across from her.

She smiled a little. “Winter is my favorite season. Anna, on the other hand…” Anna grimace and made a noise of distaste. “She prefers warmth.”

"But I like making snowmen." Anna added cheerfully.

Elsa snorted in amusement, putting a hand on her sister’s shoulder. “Me, too.”

He wondered if it really meant that they built snowmen together or… some secret code. Anna leaned towards Elsa, nuzzling close to her sister. They were close, that much was clear. 

"Punzie," Anna suddenly sat up. "You never answered my question."

Rapunzel looked up. “Huh? Oh…” she laughed. “No, no.”

"Like I’d date the princess, here." Flynn commented, returning to the living room with a beer. "She’s waaaay too high maintenance."

"And you’re a simple thief." 

"Sounds like you’re meant to be." Anna laughed.

"Don’t listen to her. Since she met Kristoff, she’s become some sort of hopeless romantic." Elsa folded her arms, leaning back as her sister shot her a pout.

"Her boyfriend," Rapunzel explained.

"We got that," Flynn commented.

As the group settled down, Sophie and Rapunzel began to work on their projects. They didn’t have any classes together this semester, but they still liked to work on projects together and help each other out. Sophie had to make a collage and Rapunzel needed a sculpture. They had a pile of scraps and parts that Hiccup brought over along with various other supplies. Soft music played. Since Tyler was born, they kept their blasting of music to a minimum. 

Jamie, Flynn, and Hiccup had congregated on their own while Jack and Laura kept Elsa and Anna company. Anna was holding Tyler, elated that this was the first time she ever got to hold a baby. Elsa watched Sophie and Rapunzel, not saying much. Anna was quite talkative, enough for both of them.

"We haven’t been to the States in a long time. Mom’s from here. Her and Auntie Julia are sisters. We have dual citizenship. We prefer Canada, though. Everyone’s much more polite. When was the last time we were here, Elsa? Five years ago? Of course, we’ve seen Punzie over the past five years. They come to see us a few times a year. They have the time to make the trip. Mom and Dad were always busy. So busy. And what with the recently opened third warehouse…"

Were…?

Elsa frowned. “Rapunzel… I’d like to go back to your place. Can I borrow your keys? Give me a call when you’d like to be picked up.”

Rapunzel frowned. “Elsa…”

Anna took her arm. “Let’s build a snowman.”

Elsa met her eyes. Took a deep breath. Shook her head. “Sorry… it’s not… I don’t mean to be rude.”

Yep, it was code. It was March. It was wet and the only snow on the ground was mush.

"You’ve lost your parents…" Jack said softly. The girls nodded. Laura expressed sincere sympathy for them. It really explained Elsa’s behavior. How she was quiet and seemed to distance herself.

"Last month," Anna whispered. "Car accident."

"I know how much it hurts." Jack move to sit on the trunk. "To lose family. I lost everything a while back… I dream about my family every night and it hurts so much to know I’ll never see them again. You feel lost and lonely and you don’t want to accept the people that just want to help. You think they just want to gain from your pain. They want to feel better about themselves because they think they can heal you. But it’s not true. You have to remember to let people in. To accept the love and trust your friends will offer you. Don’t shut them out. Don’t hide away. Embrace them. They won’t replace the family you lost but… they’ll feel like the family you used to have." Jack smiled softly. "I’m not saying let me help you, I promise. We just met. I’m just… saying I understand. And warning you not to make the same mistakes I did."

Elsa’s eyes shone. She fidgeted and worried on her thumb. “How did you lose your family?”

He never really had a set lie for this question. He told people he ran away from home and his family moved, but… that wouldn’t work for this one. He couldn’t explain that three hundred years after he left his family, he actually remember he had one. 

She took his hesitance for not wanting to talk about it. “Sorry I asked.”

"It’s okay," he replied. "Just… remember not to shut people out. Okay? Especially not your sister. She’s all you have left."

"And me~" Rapunzel chimed in.

"And Rapunzel." Jack agreed.

The girls took each other’s hand and held on tightly. Elsa smiled a little, nodding to Jack. “I’ll try.”


	47. Chapter 47

April first was when Jack got a call. Elsa and Anna were sitting in the living room, as he entertained them. Jamie. Laura, and Tyler were at baby yogo (some strange new-age exercise for infants and parents), Sophie was at work, and Rapunzel was busy setting up something at school. The sisters would be leaving in a few days to go back home to Canada. Elsa would be talking over their parent's business.

He and Anna were setting up an elaborate trap, something that looked like a Rube Goldberg machine, for Jamie when his phone rang. Elsa watched with a hint of longing to join them. Anna whispered to Jack something about wanting to be more adult and professional. As Jack picked up his phone, he barely looked at the caller ID as he answered it.

"Hello?" he greeted, adjusting a pulley system. He glanced to a domino to make sure it was placed just right. Oh, man, Jamie was really going to get it.

_"Jack Frost?"_

Jack almost dropped the rubber duck. "Ahrima?"

There was a sigh of relief.  _"Oh, good. I was almost worried this wasn't the right number."_

Jack glanced to the girls, holding up one finger to indicate he'd be back in a moment. He slipped out of the apartment, into the hall.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked.

_"Yeah, good… I'm good."_

"Good? Like… good-good?"

 _"Yeah. I wish I could explain what happened."_  Ahrima grunted with the frustration of loss of words. Jack listened, pacing, impatiently waiting for him to say something. Ahrima would open his mouth,  _"I… it was like… I just…"_ Jack kept quiet, waiting for the man to find the words he was looking for. There was less exhaustion in his voice. He sounded… happier.

"Start from the beginning." Jack suggested, trying to keep the urgency out of his voice.

 _"I found the witch. I found her. She hadn't aged a day."_  Ahrima started. He paused again. Jack nodded for him to go on, even though he knew Ahrima wouldn't be able to see it.  _"I asked her at first. I mustered up as much confidence as I could and asked her to remove the curse. To call off the Fearlings. She laughed at me. So, I went straight to begging. I'm not nearly strong enough to threaten her. She would finish before I even started. I'm not a fighter. I'm an investigator. I research the paranormal, not fight it._

_"She just laughed at me again. I told her what I lost. How she won. I didn't have family, either. She held no sympathy, as I expected. But… I just want to stop passing nightmares to everyone I come across. I can't stay anywhere for more than a night without the people near me being effected. I didn't want to scare the children I passed._

_"But_  that _. That right there was what she wanted._   _She wanted the Fearlings to spread their nightmares to families and children. Especially the children. That was why she cursed the Fearlings on me. To terrify my children. To feed the Fearlings and make them stronger. She was an agent of Pitch Black. She praised him. Hoped for his return. Make the world fall into darkness. She wanted to keep him alive._

_"I was powerless against her. I didn't even bring back up. But I knew she didn't want to end my suffering. She wanted me to live a long life, trapped by her curse. Speaking with her would do no good. I attempted to bribe her, even. I told her I could find anybody or anything she was looking for. I knew where the hunters were. I did let them know before hand. That they should be on their guard in the event that she might want to find them. They were find with being used as a bribe._

_"She didn't want it. Any of it. I had nothing to give to have it taken away. Then… something miraculous happened. The door flew open. There was nobody there… but clearly, there was. Someone I could not see. She was terrified. She believed she had hidden herself from 'him.' I wish I knew who 'he' was because… he may have taken away my curse._

_"I don't know what happened. Everything went dark… then… I_ dreamed _. A wonderful, beautiful dream with my family and a meadow with fairy circles and pegasi and gnomes playing with each other. It was beautiful, Jack. It was peaceful. It was a real dream. Something I haven't seen in so long… I never thought I'd have one of those again._

 _"When I woke up, I was in my car."_  Ahrima began to conclude just as Jamie and Laura reached the landing with Tyler in his car seat. Jamie grinned, questioning Jack who he was on the phone with. Jack held up a finger, his serious face still on. Jamie took the hint, turning to go inside. As Laura moved to follow him, Jack grabbed her arm to stop her from coming in. He didn't want her to get caught up in the elaborate, messy prank.

"You don't remember anything?" Jack asked, Laura frowning at him questioningly.

 _"No."_  Ahrima confirmed. _"Just… gold sand on my dashboard saying 'You're welcome.'"_

Jamie's yell filled the hallway. Laura's expression fell into one of understanding. She looked down at Tyler with a tiny smile, shaking her head. "Your uncle is crazy, boy. I hope you don't turn out like him." She gave Jack a joking grin. He flashed her his smirk.  _The_  smirk.

Jack focused back on the conversation. "Sounds like Sandy."

_"Sandy?"_

"The Sandman. Figured you wouldn't be able to see him. But, I talked to the Guardians when I saw them," Jack explained, letting Laura go when he was sure the apartment was safe. It was full of Anna's laughter and Jamie's cursing. Laura mouthed "You owe me an explanation." as she made a phone gesture. He nodded with a promise.

_"You talked to them?"_

"Well, I saw them in December." Jack replied, leaning against the wall. Jamie stormed out, covered in glue and glitter and feathers. Three impossible things to remove from your clothes or body. Jack smirked at the boy. "Thought you might need the assistance. Looks like Sandy got to you just in time."

_"But…."_

"I'm a Guardian, that's what I do." Jamie relaxed, now curious about Jack's phone call. "So, are you going to be back in Burgess anytime soon?"

_"I don't know…"_

"Well, you should. I'd like to shake your hand, Ahrima."

Jamie took a step back, his eyes wide with shock. "Dad?" Jack nodded.

_"I'll let you know when I'm back in town."_

"Awesome." Jack made a motion from Jamie to the phone, asking if the man wanted to talk to him. Jamie shook his head. Yep, there were still issues. "Listen, I'm glad things are looking up for you. Maybe with the Nightmares gone, you can try and make things right. I know Sophie wants to see you again. And she'll want to hear your story."

 _"I know,_ " Ahrima sighed. " _I just… it's complicated, Jack."_

"Well, we'll be here. I'll be here." Jack glanced to Jamie. The brunette's eyes were focused on the ground. He looked as if he didn't know whether to be angry or happy that Ahrima's curse was lifted.

"Thank you, Jack."

The call was disconnected. Jack pocketed his phone, now glad he didn't have to have it with him and charged 24/7. Relief washed over him in several ways. He worried about Ahrima, especially since he hadn't heard from him in months. But everything was looking up. Bright as sunshine for his friends' father.

"Dad's okay?" Jamie asked. Jack nodded. Jamie couldn't help but give a tiny, reluctant smile. He leaned forward, before Jack could stop him, and embraced his friend.

Jamie's snicker confirmed the hug was only payback for the prank.


	48. Chapter 48

By May, the Arendelle sisters had returned to Canada. Elsa had to settle things in their parents' company and get ready to take over. Anna was going to be her cheerleader. She would help Elsa as much as she could and encourage her older sister. They promised to keep in contact, especially Anna. Her and Jack had grown quite close, both being lovers of games and fun. They played a lot of pranks together and it made Jack wish that they lived closer.

It was the seasons where the friends were starting to get cabin fever. Especially Hiccup and Merida. They were craving for a camping trip, but the only spot they really cared for was their usual camp grounds. They decided to settle on a cheap, tourist-y camp ground with real bathing facilities and real bathrooms and running water. It was closer than the usual grounds and that meant there would be a lot more people.

There was four of them this time. Jamie, Jack, Hiccup, and Merida. Sophie and Rapunzel were working on final projects for the semester and couldn't be distracted. Jamie had become a stay-at-home Dad, what with his books still in the editing process while Laura went back to work. Laura allowed Jamie a weekend off. Not as if the first-time parents didn't have plenty of help between Susan and Jack and Sophie helping out. At the tiny camp site, there was a faucet and an outlet and a round piece of metal as a fire pit, which made Merida cringe.

"This ain't real campin'." She huffed, the others agreeing with her. It was annoying to try and set up a tent on top of gravel. Sleeping bags would not be comfortable. Jack wondered if the foam mats would even do anything. He hoped it would be okay to sleep in the bed of Hiccup's truck.

"Toothless wouldn't even be able to fit anywhere." Hiccup grimaced, glancing around the site. It was so small. There was just a line of sort, thin-ish trees between their neighbors. One was an RV, the other was a group of loud college kids.

"Let's just go home," Merida resigned.

"Hey, come on, it's not so bad." Jack tried. He circled the area. "I mean, we can at least shower in clean water, right?"

Hiccup and Merida gave him a look as if he were speaking sacrilege. Jamie shrugged, like it was fine by him. "At least we won't deal with a bear trying to murder the ginger."

"I'll never be able to go campin' again," Merida looked as if she would weep. "Fekkin' bear."

"You'll get to go," Hiccup assured her. "Promise. We'll find a new location. Or, you know, find the blood his cherished and his enemy. Or... maybe..." Hiccup frowned, crossing his arms. "Family?"

"Family?" Merida repeated.

"Yeah, like... ancestors." Hiccup pondered. "I wonder if that would work."

"Yeah, good luck finding ancestors of his princess." Merida snorted. "Unless they happened to have a baby." She shook her head. "History probably doesn't have them recorded. We'd never be able to see where their family trees led. Or if they ended."

"Well, we can try and get that spell from Auntie Julie again." Jamie laughed. "What was in it? Something about blood and moon phases and wormwood?"

"Moondew and dittany." Jack corrected.

"We should get comfortable." Hiccup sighed, defeated.

They set up the tent, testing out how comfortable the sleeping would be (it wasn't). The area felt too humid and Jack had already gotten three bug bites in a single hour. Apparently, they weren't allowed to chop down their own firewood, so they had to purchase some from the store near the entrance of the camp. They checked out all the goods they could cook with a campfire and looked at the gas stoves for sale and checked out the kayaks for rent (they would have to drive about ten minutes to the kayak waters).

Apparently, this was what normal people considered camping. Jamie recalled the vacations Susan, he, and Sophie would take camping and this was how it was. The other two weren't impressed. For all of Hiccup's complaining about his father taking him real, manly, outdoors camping, he sure seemed to prefer that to this.

The four of them walked around the camp grounds. They found a volleyball pit with sand and a rotting net. Tennis and basketball. A playground where children were playing (Jack hoped to maybe sneak away sometime this weekend to play with them). A swimming pool that opened in the summer. But...

"NO ARCHERY RANGE?!" Merida cried in rage. "NOT A SINGLE TARGET! BLOODY HELL, WHAT THE HELL ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO HERE?!"

"Merida-"Hiccup tried.

"NO, HICCUP. THAT'S IT. IF YE AIN'T GONNA DRIVE ME HOME, I'M WALKIN'." Merida turned on her heel, stomping away. Hiccup jogged to catch up with her to calm her down.

Jamie turned to Jack. "Honestly, I'm okay with this arrangement. I prefer actual toilets."

It took some time to calm Merida down enough to talk with a manager. They had come to some sort of agreement (mostly because Merida had an arrow point under his nose as they discussed the matter) that Merida could shoot her arrows at a specific tree. He let them far enough from the camps to a small wooded area, facing away from the populated areas. He directed her to a tree she could shoot at. The girl promptly took a knife from her belt and carved an X in the tree, grumbling curses and something about how this was a sorry excuse for a camp. The man was quick to go back to his post.

"I don't think we'll be allowed her ever again." Hiccup mused.

"Good!" the girl snapped. "I don't want to be here anyway."

The boys sat around and watched Merida shoot her arrows for a while. She shot a Robin Hood fairly quickly, which impressed all of them. Merida brushed it off too easily, as if she'd done it a million times before (it had only been three, including this time). Jamie and Hiccup took pictures with their phones before Merida attempted to pull the arrows from the tree.

"Wait, no, no." Jack stopped her. "Keep them there. It'll haunt the manager forever. Everyone will be so impressed, so he'll have to keep it up." Merida smirked, complimenting Jack on his cunning.

They left the make-shift archery range, Robin Hood and all.

The four of them built a fire. Made lunch and simply chatted. The next day, they would take the hiking trail (that they were sure was just a short nature walk) and rock climb (which was just a climbing wall near the shop). They all agreed this was a boring camp. And expensive. They would have to look for a better one next time (one with an archery range).

After lunch, they rented kayaks, which Jack had never done before. It was really easy. They took a shuttle to where the trail started and they would end at the camp. The river was so calm. There weren't any rapids. It was just... rowing down a river.

"The canoe would have been cheaper." Merida shouted so the boys could hear her.

Jack made it fun. He splashed them, tipped Hiccup (who made sure Jack took a swim as well), sang loud river songs, crashed into their boats. Jack liked the kayaking. It was fun. Merida laughed and told him real kayaking had streams and rapids and sometimes waterfalls. ... Okay, that sounded more fun.

They pulled up to the bank, "rangers" already waiting for them to collect the kayaks. The four stayed back to play in the cold water for a bit before going back to camp and to change and make dinner.

When they got back. Elinor and Fergus were waiting. Hiccup invited them for dinner to check out the rather pathetically safe camp ground. They were worried about Merida being anywhere near a forest in case Mor'du showed up. After all, it was only chasing her. As Jamie and Jack made dinner, Hiccup and Merida took her parents on a tour of the camp.

"It really is pathetic," Jamie noted. "How very not-dangerous this camp is."

"The 'rangers' will certainly protect us from all harm." Jack laughed. "No bear is getting through those guys."

"Do they even carry mace on them?"

"Don't think so."

"If Mor'du DID happen to get here, we'd be fucked."

"We most certainly would be."

"I don't consider this a forest, though." Jamie concluded. "He kinda just hangs out in those, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, according to Merida."

"We're good then."

As they were finishing up dinner, the four returned. Merida was loud enough that they heard her complaining to Fergus. "They actually have a bath house, Da. With mirrors and outlets and Jesus, I saw a girl straightening her hair!"

"Yup. You're safe here." he deducted.

"This is the worse camp I've ever been to."

"But it's the safest place." Elinor interjected. "I'm glad you're safe here."

"I'm bored here." Merida corrected.

"Safe," Elinor emphasized.

Jack and Jamie hadn't had dinner with the DunBroch's since they decided what they were going to do about Mor'du. Jack was intimidated by Elinor, even if Fergus liked him plenty. Heck, Hiccup was even intimidated by her more than Fergus. Fergus happily accepted him into the family as Merida's boyfriend (which was still weird to think about) while Elinor kept him under scrutiny. She made Hiccup wonder if he was worthy of Merida. It was Jamie's job to assure him he was and Merida's job to tell him to ignore her mother.

They sat at the table provided at the site to eat the feast Jamie and Jack made. Fergus has a worthy appetite, so they made sure to feed everyone well and good. When dinner had finished, they sat around the campfire, Fergus, Jamie, and Jack roasting marshmallows for s'mores.

"S'mores are called s'mores because you always want 'some more.'" Jack laughed. "I'd like s'more s'mores please."

"Huh, I'd never thought of that, lad." Fergus appraised.

"It's true, right?"

"Very!" Fergus laughed as he put another two marshmallows on his stick. "Elinor, we should go camping. We hadn't gone in years. Since Merida was a wee baby."

"We've been busy since the business got off the ground," his wife reminded him.

He rolled his eyes towards Merida with a smirk. She snickered, the two of them sharing an inside joke. It had always been clear that Merida was a "Daddy's girl." The two of them were thick as thieves, close as close can be. He liked her rebellious spirit and her reach for freedom. He encouraged her, where Elinor did not.

It was getting dark early, which seemed strange. Above, the sky was gray turning to black. Hiccup commented that it looked like it might rain that night. Fergus was sure it wouldn't start until later. An outdoorsman like himself was familiar with weather like this. If it was clear all day, rain wouldn't start until later. Jack didn't want to tell him the weather didn't really work like that. It was unpredictable. It would start when it wanted to.

As the sun fell, it started to drizzle. Elinor tried to suggest that her and Fergus head home, but Fergus wanted to stay a little longer The six of them squeezed (if Fergus hadn't been so incredibly large, they would have all fit just fine) into the tent just in time for the downpour. A lantern sat in the middle of their circle. Merida had to sit on Hiccup's lap for them to fit comfortably, and it was shocking how astonishingly okay she was with the arrangement.

"How about scary stories?" Jack suggested.

"Yes!" Fergus cried. His wife and daughter rolled their eyes, as if they knew where this was going. "I'll go first!"

And it seemed that Fergus was so very predictable. He told the story they'd all heard before. The story Fergus so very much loved to tell. This was the first time Jack might have heard it with all the truths, though.

"Merida was just a tiny thing. No bigger than my foot. We were setting up a tent for her third birthday to celebrate. We had just moved in to our new home. A grand place with acres and acres of land. Most of it forest. There were going to be many guests to celebrate her birthday and to welcome us to our new home. Ah, I remember... that was the day you got your first bow." Fergus smiled warmly to Merida.

"I used to try and shoot yours, didn't I?" she laughed.

"It was three times your size! Not much luck there, aye?" He laughed. "We turned our backs for but a moment and Merida had disappeared. Later, she told us she had followed the will o' the wisps. The walked into the woods and the next thing we knew... There was a great bellow of a beast! We had been warned about animals in there, but were promised if we stuck to the trails or didn't go too far in, we'd be safe.

"Merida had come rushin' out of the trees, screaming. Elinor scooped her up just as the ground started shakin'. From nowhere... the biggest bear you'd ever seen! His hide littered with the weapons of fallen warriors — his face scarred with one dead eye! As Elinor ran with Merida to safety, I fetched my rifle from the shed not three meters away. I aimed and shot it! Right in the face! It didn't so much as bleed! I charged for a closer shot and—"

"Whoosh!" Merida interrupted. "It shattered the gun, right in his hands! Then CHOMP! Dad's leg was clean off! Down the monster's throat it went!"

"Aww, that's my favorite part."

"Since, Mor'du had been roaming the wild, waiting for revenge..." Merida said in a low, eery voice. They all knew that wasn't what the bear was after, but it added to the silly, mock horror ambience. She opened mouth, letting out a low roar with chomping noises before an even louder one—

That was joined with the sound of a real beast. The six of them sat, frozen in the tent. Screams where heard over the pounding of rain on the tent. Fergus made his way out of the tent to see what was going on. Merida crawled off of Hiccup, fumbling for her bow and arrows.

Hiccup was out after Fergus with a flashlight. He scanned the trees as headlights passed, campers quickly making their escape in their vehicles.

As Merida tried to climb out of the tent, Elinor grabbed her by the wrist. "Stay here." she instructed firmly.

"But Mum—"

Jack put a hand on her shoulder. He looked from her to Jamie. He didn't want his friend to get hurt either. And Elinor needed assistance keeping Merida still. Jamie could help her with that. "Stay in here. All of you." Jamie nodded, understanding. Jack climbed out after Hiccup.

The headlights blinded him. The rain soaked him. It was too dark to see anything. But there was certainly something going on. There was screams and calls for help and assistance. As a "ranger" ran by their site, his walkie talkie spoke just loud enough for Jack to hear, "The tranqs aren't putting him down!"

"Give him more!" the ranger yelled.

"We've already shot him with five! We need bigger ammo!"

Jack was pretty certain that bigger ammo wasn't going to do much. Jack turned to Hiccup and Fergus. "It's gotta be Mor'du."

"Time for round two." Fergus had never looked more solemn than he did now. The man walked to his car and pulled out a rather big gun. Jack watched as he loaded it, frowning.

"Mr. DunBroch, I really don't think that's going to work." Jack told him frankly.

"I'll be damned if I don't try." Fergus pumped his gun. "For my girl." He glanced to the tent. Jack knew a father's love for his baby girl was strong. They were always out to protect. They would give their lives for their children, which could possibly happen to Fergus in this very moment.

Until hope decided to show it's face.

A rather strong gust of wind slapped water in Jack's was momentarily blinded and confused until Hiccup cried out in surprise. "Toothless?! What are you doing here?!"

Jack wiped the water from his eyes, finally able to see the mass of darkness in front of him. Toothless growled, nudging Hiccup. The boy shook his head, scratching his snout. "You were prepared for this, weren't you?" Toothless made clicking noises as an affirmation. "Alright, bud, let's go." Hiccup rounded around his dragon, slinging himself onto the saddle before taking off.

Fergus was left, stunned in the rain. He turned to Jack. "What the bloody hell just happened?"

"Toothless. Hiccup's dragon." Jack replied. He was sure Merida would have told her parents about that, especially since Elinor had already been semi-introduced to him.

"Dragon. I didn't see a thing... Merida mentioned something about a dragon but, I just..."

"You've got to believe in them to see them," Jack explained. There was a flash of white that could have been mistaken for lightning. More screams. "We should probably clear the rangers out before they get hurt."

"Good idea."

Jack glanced to the tent. Jamie and Elinor were arguing with Merida.

"I'm not gonna let Hiccup fight all by himself!" Jack heard her scream.

"He's not alone! He has Toothless!" Jamie reasoned.

Jack understood her worry. Last time Hiccup and Toothless went against Mor'du, Hiccup hadn't come out quite the same. He was bolder, yes. But he had also become reckless in the worst sense. Maybe after Thor and Mor'du, Hiccup was starting to get this stupid idea that he was immortal.

Jack and Fergus ran towards the ruckus. The people were scattering. A large bear was batting blindly at the dragon flying around it's head. The plasma shot at it barely did a thing. He stumbled, got back up, and just kept moving. It wanted one thing. It knew exactly where it was. It may be blind (Hiccup's knife was still stuck in his eye), but it could certainly smell. Jack chewed his lip. The attacks from Toothless seemed to have very little effect on him. Mor'du pushed forward, easily trampling over a tent.

Jack pulled a few rangers back. They barely even looked at him when he shouted over the rain and battle for them to get out of there. They didn't need telling twice. They turned heel and ran the opposite direction. Jack saw Fergus easily ordering quite a few people at the same time to get out of there. They took one look at him and followed his orders. It didn't take much for the two of them to get everyone cleared. Everyone wanted to get out of there. The huge, terrifying bear was not going down, no matter how many times it was shot, tranquilized, or struck with lightning.

Jack stood behind Fergus. Fergus shot the bear with his gun. Toothless zapped him with plasma. Jack was helpless. Then,  _THUNK_.

An arrow shot into his hide. Mor'du bellowed. Jack whirled around to face Merida who was running closer, Jamie and Elinor on her tail. Mor'du sniffed the air, bound for her. Merida pulled another arrow from the quiver to aim right before the bow was snatched from her hands.

Elinor took the bow from her daughter, pulled the arrow from her fingers and took aim like a pro. She looked so strong, majestic in that moment. Artemis would have been proud. The arrow flew and  _THUNK_. Straight into Mor'du's chest. The bear stumbled and fell. The beat became still. Fergus, Merida, Jamie, and Jack all stared at Elinor, Merida clutching her hand. Elinor nodded, satisfied when the bear did not rise. She turned to Merida, took her hand which Jack just noticed in the lighting from the nearby outhouse was bleeding. The arrow must have cut her as Elinor took it from her.

Jack approached the fallen bear warily. He nudged the wet fur, but the creature did not stir. Hiccup landed, just behind Merida, Jamie, and Elinor. Fergus joined his family. Jack raised his eyebrows at Jack as he approached his friend. "Is it dead?"

"Looks like it," Jack confirmed. "But... how?"

Jamie surveyed the scene. "Merida."

"What?"

"Her blood. It was on that arrow. Hiccup was right. Ancestors." Jamie explained. "You guys said the blood of the most cherished and the worst enemy were needed, right? Well... Merida must be the result." The boys turned to her. "Somewhere, along the line, the families must have bred together. For all we know, one of her parents descended from the guy he hated and the other was from his most cherished. Which means, even her brothers' blood could have worked as well. The blade on the arrow pierced his heart and... well, now it's over."

There was a groan. Jamie and Jack jumped, looking behind them. Without them even realizing it, the bear had transformed. In it's place, a man. Arrows, knives, swords, and bullets littered the ground around him. One scarred eye, shaggy dark hair, and still, he looked rather handsome. He twisted in his place, looking to the DunBroch family. A single arrow, still in his chest. He reached for Merida.

"Mar...nie..." Merida finally realized what was going on. She approached the fallen man, clutching her still bleeding hand. The man started to glow. "Mar...nie..." He became translucent, fading. "Gabh mo leisgeul..."

He was gone, leaving nothing the the weapons that he carried with him for centuries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Gabh mo leisgeul" is Scottish Gaelic for sorry (I don't think that's the literal translation, but it was the only thing I could even find holy crap, there's no help from Scottish Gaelic).
> 
> Anyway, Merida's arch is done! Whoo! I know I kind of introduced the Arendelle sisters and then dumped them, but they'll be in and out of the story. I was looking through old reviews and I saw one I forgot about from a while ago. But, basically kind of summed up what I wanted to do with them. XD
> 
> This was a quick, out of the way chapter to close an almost forgotten story arch, that had a little bit in between. Not that I didn't already have ideas for how to end it, just... the story writes itself. It's hard to keep up with it's changing moods. And, I'm also out of practice. I didn't realize what a few months break would do to me. Never again. Keep writing, Kate.


End file.
